Robert Bowes

7 August 1884
Livingston County, Illinois, USA

23 June 1945 (Age 60)

Crown Hill Cemetery
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana,
Resting in Section 67, Lot 12

Indianapolis 500 Sponsor (Bowes Seal-Fast). While driving from Cincinnati to Indianapolis in 1918, Robert M. Bowes had to have his tire repaired four different times for the same puncture, leading him to decide that there had to be a better way of repairing tires. He and his brother Charles started developing a chemical patching system, and after a year of development, they started the Bowes Sealfast Company, and began manufacturing and distributing their invention. The brothers marketed their products from car-towed trailers and the trunks of their cars. He started a racing team, and in 1930, the first Bowes Seal Fast Special raced in the Indianapolis 500. The following year, he had a two-car team. In 1933, he had three drivers, but none of them finished, and his team’s poor results continued over the next years, either failing to place or being killed in accidents during the race, until 1940 when one of his cars placed. This was followed by a decade of races where his team either did not place or didn’t even race. It wasn’t until the 1960 that the team’s fortunes improved, when racing legend A.J. Foyt joined the team, winning the championship, then the Indianapolis 500 in 1961. Shortly after, he sold his interest in the team. His company still exists, and sells Bowes Seal Fast provides tire repair patches, tire repair equipment, wheel weights, tire plugs, chemicals, and numerous other automotive products.