Dario Resta

Collection of articles about 1916 Indy 500 winner Dario Resta.


This is a terrific bio piece done on Dario Resta shortly after he began competing in the United States in 1915. He had only recently married Mary Wishart Resta, the sister of one of the young chargers of the day, Spencer Wishart. This is an excellent source for anyone interested in Resta's career.

Dario Resta's best years in racing were his two big seasons in America back in 1915 and 1916. During 1916 he won the Vanderbilt Cup, the AAA season points championship and, his crowning achievement and ticket to immortality - a victory in the greatest race of all time and forever, the Indianapolis 500. An asterisk applies, I guess, but not a big one: this was the only Indianapolis Classic that was scheduled for less than 500 miles - specifically 300 miles.

The year after Resta's brilliant victory in the Indianapolis Classic, World War I was ravaging the planet. While the battle was focused in Europe its impact was felt in the United States and very much at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which was converted to a training facility for the country's burgeoning air force - and naval air corp. Resta's personal life presented challenges as wife Mary - the sister of the recently deceased Spencer Wishart - urged him to retire from racing before she lost him to the sport as she did with her brother.

Dario Resta's career ground almost to a halt in 1920 as he grappled with the pleadings of wife Mary the demands of business interests and disappointments in his performance after losing the "best car in the world" advantage he had previously held with the Peugeot.