Walter went to the Indy 500 numerous times as the guest of Indy 500 team owner Lindsey Hopkins. Brock Yates recalls Mr. Cronkite was a regular at racetracks as early as 1949. He would come with his friends, such as the Today show host Dave Garroway and the actor Jackie Cooper, who was racing his own Austin-Healey.
Uncle Walter drove several times in “Little Le Mans” endurance races in a Volvo PV444, once finishing third overall and first in his class. He also drove in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1959, and filed radio reports for CBS between shifts, according to Donald Davidson, an auto racing historian.
Here is a video of Uncle Walter about sports cars. For more information about his auto racing life read this New York Times article written by Jerry Garrett.
[Source: New York Times]
