Notes:
Al Keller was born in Alexandria Bay, New York, on 11 April 1920. His full name was Alvah A. Keller. He started his racing career in 1938 at age eighteen. During World War II Keller enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve, where rose to the rank of fireman, second class.

After the end of the conflict Keller resumed racing, becoming one of the most active and versatile drivers of his time. Keller is notable for being the only driver to win a premier NASCAR race at the wheel of a vehicle not built in the United States. That happened on 13 June 1954, when NASCAR organized an event over a two-mile road course laid on the runaways of the Linden Airport in New Jersey. Nearly half of the forty-three cars in the starting field were foreign cars, and Keller took the laurels with his number 4 Jaguar XK-120.

These successes motivated Keller to ramp up his career the following year, when he debuted at the Indy 500. That unfortunately turned into a a tragic event, and Keller was involved in the four-car wreck the cost the life of Bill Vukovich. Out of the six times Keller competed at the Brickyard his best result was achieved in 1961, when he finished the race in fifth place with his Philipp - Offenhauser "Konstant Hot". That was, in fact, Keller's best season in the USAC National Championship, as he scored two top-fives and was pole-positioned two times in that series.

The last race of the 1961 USAC National Championship calendar was the "Bobby Ball Memorial", which took place at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix on 19 November. The event was named after Bobby Ball, a popular Arizonian driver who lost his life after a crash in a midget car race at the Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California, in 1953.

The USAC race in Phoenix was to be an 100-lap event over an one-mile dirt oval; it was the twelfth time that a USAC National Championship event would be held at that track. Keller went to it holding the fifth position in the series' standings - and his weekend started very well, as he scored the pole position to the race. In fact, Keller set a new track record, with a time of 34.74 seconds, bettering the mark of 36.68 seconds established in 1958 by Rex Easton. Sadly, though, veteran Al Keller would not be able to collect his prize for that feat.

The track at the Arizona State Fairgrounds was in very poor condition that year; drivers and cars were having a tough time coping with its many, dangerous ruts. Already during the qualifying sessions competitor Ray Crawford of Pasadena, California, flipped his front-engined Elder - Offenhauser coming out of Turn 2. He was seriously injured, being hospitalized with chest and head injuries. If before the accident the drivers were already concerned about the dirt surface, after Crawford's crash their complains were voiced even louder. In those years, however, the perception of safety and risks associated with racing was different from today's, and the event went on as planned.

As such, the green flag fell on the afternoon of Sunday, race day. Already early in the event Rodger Ward hit a rut at Turn 4. That area, in the northwest section of the circuit, preceding the Grandstand Straightaway, was plagued with particularly bad ruts. Ward's car violently waved to left and right. Only after much effort and hundreds of feet later Ward - who had started the race right behind Keller - was able to regain control of it.

The worst would happen not much later, when Al Keller was completing his forty-first lap around the track. As he drove through Turn 4, Keller took a trajectory higher than the usual and on of his right wheels hooked on a rut - not far from the point where Ward almost span. Keller's yellow machine spun out of control and rolled broadside six times, landing upside down on a chain link fence, against which Keller's body was wedged. No other cars were involved in the crash. Rescuers ran to the help of Keller, but it was clear that his condition was beyond help. Hauled away from the car and sped to a Phoenix hospital, Keller was declared dead on arrival.

On lap 49 the red flag was brought out, so to the wreckage of Keller's crash could be removed and the track repaired - even if barely. During the delay Ward, who had taken the lead of the race, declared "This is absolutely the worst track I have driven on in my life, and I have driven on a lot of them. There were reports that some drivers would refuse to continue to race because of the track condition; asked about that, Ward said "They are fools if they continue, but I guess we are all fools".

Indeed fools they all - Ward included - were, as thirty minutes later the event resumed. Then, on lap 83, another serious crash: Chuck Hulse, of Downey, California, tumbled his Watson - Offenhauser machine on the North Turn, not far from where Keller had crashed. Hulse was treated for shoulder and head cuts in a hospital in Phoenix, but was otherwise lucky to escape without major wounds.

The race was finally halted on lap 90, ten short of the programmed; by then the afternoon was coming to a close, and natural light was dimming down. Parnelli Jones was the winner, followed by Rodger Ward, and Don Branson. Ward, who had dropped to second place just as the race was called off, was one of the many competitors incensed after the event, stating "I probably said too much already, but I hate to see poor officiating and it makes me angry. I think the track could be a good one if enough thought and preparation went into it".

That was a sad win to Jones, who did not demonstrate much joy at the fenced area reserved to the winner after the race. Jones stated that he was sorry for the fans that the race had to be stopped but said that "I guess they [the officials] did it for our own safety". Instead of the evening darkness Jones had another explanation why the race was called - the track was beginning to tear up "real bad", and another serious accident was imminent.

Sixth-place finisher Eddie Sachs, a colorful persona known as "The Clown Prince of Racing", summarized well the event in a sentence that became emblematic: "This is a hard way to make an easy buck." And very much it was. Besides Keller, seven other of the twenty-three drivers who entered that race would lose their lives racing. Don Branson, Eddie Sachs, Allen Crowe, Bobby Marshman, Shorty Templeman, Red Riegel and Ronnie Duman - they all paid speed's ultimate price.

Al Keller was forty-one years old. He was a resident of Greenacres, Florida, where he worked as a deputy sheriff. Keller was survived by his wife Virginia and their son A. Wayne. He was buried at the Lake Worth Memory Gardens in Palm Springs, Florida.

An often told story is that Al Keller would be the grandfather of NASCAR drivers Kurt and Kyle Busch; although this is a popular tale, it is incorrect. There is no family link between Keller and the Busch brothers.

• U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
• U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970.
• New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967.
• Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001.
• Book "The Tribute Project", edited by Ed Watson, 1997, page 23, contribution by Ed Watson [date off by one day].
• Book "The International Motor Racing Guide", by Peter Higham, David Bull Publishing, Phoenix, United States, ISBN 1-893618-20-X.
• Book "Grand Prix Data Book 1997", by David Hayhoe and David Holland, 3rd. edition, Duke Marketing, Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom, 1996, ISBN 0-9529325-0-4.
• Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present", by Allan E. Brown, third edition, first printing, November 2003, America's Speedways, PO Box 448, Comstock Park, MI, 49321-0448, United States, ISBN 0-931105-61-7, page 105.
• Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present", 2nd edition, by Allan E. Brown, Comstock Park, MI, United States, 1994, ISBN 0-931105-42-0, page 93.
• Book "Racers At Rest - The Checkered Flag - 1905-2008", by Fred Chaparro, Joe Heisler, Buzz Rose and Jeff Sharpe, © 2008, Rose Racing Publications, P.O. Box 10879, Glendale, AZ 85318-0879, United States [no ISBN shown], page 331.
• Newspaper The Birdgeport Post (Bridgepost, CT, United States), issue of 21 March 1955, page 40, article "Race Car Driver Dies In Speedway Crash" [C1].
• Newspaper News-Tribune (Fort Pierce, FL, United States), issue of 10 October 1957, page 6, article "Keller, New Gold Coast Manager, Prefers Speedway to Highway" [C2].
• Newspaper The Troy Record (Troy, NY, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 3, article "Al Keller Killed As Race Car Flips" [C3].
• Newspaper The New York Times (New York City, NY, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 43, United Press International wire service, article "Driver Dies When Car Overturns Six Times".
• Newspaper The Washington Post (Washington, DC, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page A26, United Press International, article, "Driver Al Keller Dies in Race Mishap".
• Newspaper The Progress (Clearfield, Curwensville, Philipsburg, Moshannon Valley, PA, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 17, Associated Press wire service, article "Al Keller, Veteran Race Driver, Killed".
• Newspaper Mansfield News-Journal (Mansfield, OH, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 23, Associated Press wire service, article "Keller Dies During Car Race Sunday".
• Newspaper Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page C4. Associated Press wire service, article "Al Keller, 41, Racing Driver, Dies In Crash".
• Newspaper The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 45, United Press wire service, article "Al Keller Killed During Auto Race".
• Newspaper Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page C1, United Press International wire service, article "Veteran Al Keller Killed in Phoenix Memorial 100-Miler, Jones Victor".
• Newspaper The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, CA, United States), issue of Monday, 20 November 1961, page 44, Associated Press wire service, article "Vet Driver Killed Before Collecting Race Prizes".
• Newspaper The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL, United States), issue of Wednesday, 22 November 1961, page 18, article "Keller Rites To Be Friday" [E1].
• The Wilson Howard Davis Archives.
• Website Motorsport.com, chapter Statistics, Champ Cars, research by Phil Harms, page http://www.motorsport.com/stats/champ/data/ch196112.pdf.
• Website Racing-Reference, Al Keller Career Statistics, page http://www.racing-reference.com/driver?id=kelleal01.
• Website Find-A-Grave: Al Keller.
• Website How Stuff Works?, article "1954 NASCAR Grand National Recap", page http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1950s/1954-nascar.htm.
• Website Wikipedia, article "Greenacres, Florida", page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenacres,_Florida.
• E-mail by Rick Kelly, dated 18 June 2004.
• E-mail by Jim Thurman, dated 09 May 2009.
• E-mails by Jim Michels, dated 26 June 2009 (four messages).
• E-mails by Dick Cole, dated 03 July 2009 (two messages), also citing [C1], [C2] and [C3].
• E-mail by Don Tash, dated 29 August 2010.
• E-mail by Eman, dated 28 January 2014, citing [E1].
• E-mail by Eman, dated 06 June 2014.