33 replies to this topic

[fines]

At special request, and as a gesture of my admiration for the man and his work, I hereby open this thread for John Glenn Printz to provide us with more of his erudite postings about American Racing History. This is your stage, John!


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Finis.

[Frank Verplanken]

Oh boy, can't wait for that one to start !!!

[john glenn printz]

Much thanks to Michael Ferner!

PREFACE: The year 1953 always seemed a dividing line to me personally. Everything I know about automobile racing before 1953 has been learned from pure inference as I was not there and wasn't following the sport. After being taken to Indianapolis in 1953 the situation changed. Of the 7 Indianapolis races covered here I saw 6 of them live, all but the 1956 race. That one I heard on the radio. I also saw live the last weekend of the Indy time trials in 1960 and 1961. Two other USAC Championship events I witnessed, between 1956 and 1962, were the 1957 Detroit 100 and the 1962 Milwaukee 200.

Although I had no connections with racing or any USAC personnel whatsoever, I was trying to follow the USAC Championship Trail as closely as possible. So what follows is about 65% remembrance and 35% research, as I did make some further investigations during 1982 when most of this was originally written. It should then be of some interest to anyone who wishes to know something about the earliest USAC National Championship seasons. I was an eye witness of sorts, an unobserved observer. Anyway this is what I surmised was going on at the time and what I still think I saw during 1956 to 1962.

Most of this material, I might add, was first published in the OFFICIAL PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES ANNUAL 1983, on pages 108-122. I feel free to alter the old text and correct old errors as I wish. Enjoy!

Sincerely, J.G. Printz

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 17:28.

[Allen Brown]

This should be good

[john glenn printz]

USAC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACING 1956 TO 1962 by John G. Printz and Ken M. McMaken. GENERAL CONDITIONS 1956 TO 1962.

The total withdrawal of the AAA from racing in 1955 came as a severe shock. But few shed any genuine tears over that development. The fact was that the AAA hierarchy had done a very poor job with regard to the promotion and handling of American motor sport since the late thirties. The United States Auto Club (USAC) was incorporated on September 16, 1955 to replace the old AAA Contest Board for the upcoming 1956 season. The whole situation definitely improved under the new regulatory body of USAC, for USAC was, after all, only involved in racing activity and its membership included only people with a real interest in oval type racing. Racing was no longer just a neglected appendage of the huge nation wide insurance empire of the American Automobile Association.

But because of the former disinterest and incompetence of the AAA, USAC found itself not alone in its bid for the public's attenton in the motorsports area. New largely post-World WAR II organizations like the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) formed in 1944, the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) put together in 1948, and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) organized in 1951 had arisen and grown to be major or superior rivals to the old American tradition of open wheel oval style racing. USAC and its followers and supporters were now considered backward and even primitive by many auto enthusiasts simply because they carried on with the old oval style formats of midget, sprint, and National Championship racing. The newly arising sports car set, in particlar, which was much more interested in road racing and the European Grand Prix series, tended to degrade and demean the existing U.S. Champioship scene as simplistic and a totally unsophisticated form of motor racing which somehow had survived in spire of itself. And there was probably a grain of truth in such criticism too. Everything was seemingly held together only by the overwheming prestige of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the drivers who had run there.

At first, there was no break in the basic traditions inherited by USAC from the AAA. The cars, drivers, designers, builders, officials and fans were largely the same as in 1950 to 1955 when the AAA had had control. It was the same for the tracks in use. The USAC National Championship circuit thus consisted of Indianapolis, Milwaukee and the various one mile flat dirt ovals located at mostly annual State Fair sites like DuQuoin, Phoenix, Springfield, Syracuse, etc. To the two existing paved Championship speedway, i.e. Indianapolis and Milwaukee, was added the Trenton one mile track in 1957. The races held at the West Allis Milwaukee mile, which a had a pre-World War II tradition of Championship racing dating back to 1939, had more status than those staged at Trenton or the numerous dirt tracks but nothing came even remotely close to rivaling the fame of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen, Sr. (1916-1961) once quipped, "A win at Indianapolis is worth a dozen elsewhere."

Gradually during the period 1956 to 1965 the Championship dirt races and the paved oval events became almost totally different and separate worlds. Some drivers were supreme on the dirt tracks but just couldn't get the "feel" or real speed on the paved ovals. Good examples during the era under consideration here would be Jud Larson (1928-1966) and Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. himself. Other pilots, of which Jim Rathmann (b. 1928) would be the best example, were extremely effective on pavement but much less so when riding on dirt. With others like Jimmy Bryan (1927-1960) , Rodger Ward (1921-2004) , or A.J. Foyt (b. 1935), it didn't seem to matter what kind of surface they raced on, they were always potential winners anywhere and at anytime. The Indy roadsters, first introduced at Indianapolis in 1952 by Frank Kurtis (1918-1987), proved non-competitive on the dirt ovals, while in turn, the Championship dirt track cars were only more gradually phased out on the Championship paved tracks by the faster roadsters. The last victory for a dirt machine on a paved oval occurred at Trenton on April 21, 1963 (Foyt in a Offenhauser/Meskowski), but some dirt track cars still continued to complete on the paved or asphalt Championship ovals for years to come.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself began to blossom with new construction projects such as a wholly new office-museum complex located at 16th and Georgetown Road (1956) and a new Tower Terrace seating area in front of the pits (1957). Indy was beginning to take on its more modern aspect with concrete and steel replacing the older wooden structures. In addition, there were always plenty of new roadster type cars being built primarily or just for the "500". The dirt track machinery, which was once the mainstay of the starting Indy lineups, quickly faded out during 1952 to 1956. Only five examples were able to qualify for the "500" starting field in 1956 and no dirt track cars were ever again to appear in an Indianapolis starting lineup. Every competing vehicle was of the roadster configuration, for the entire Indianapolis lineups of 1957 to 1960.

Most of the Indy roadsters were built by J. Quinn Epperly (1913-2001), Eddie Kuzma (1911-1996), Luigi Lesovsky (1913-1994), and A. J. Watson (b. 1924). Wayne Ewing and Floyd Trevis (1906-1994), built copies from Watson's own blueprints which he would sell selectively for about $250. Watson soon became the king of the roadster builders, displacing Frank Kurtis here, and Watson's designs and/or machines built directly by him held the four lap qualication records from 1956 to 1963 and won the "500" in 1956 and 1959 to 1964 inclusive!

Things were definely on the upswing at Indianapolis during the years 1956 to 1962. The old track was bustling with renewed activity in an attractive and wholly new atmosphere. USAC's Championship division 1956 to 1962 was a insular world all of its own but outside hybrids, i.e. three Ford/Lotus cars in 1963, would soon alter the old order of things. In 1962, USAC was on the brink of a far reaching revolution not wholly anticipated or accurately assessed. The scene, after that, would never be the same again.

Edited by john glenn printz, 01 November 2010 - 17:11.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-1) PART I. EARLY USAC 1956 TO 1958. 1956 SEASON (12 RACES).

Symbols: Car Types, D = dirt track car, R = roadster, and LR = layover roadster. Track Types, D = dirt track, PO = paved oval. NTR = new track record. s/c = supercharged motor.

The season's twelve winners:

1. May 30 Indianapolis 500, Flaherty, Pat, Offenhauser/Watson R, 128.490 mph, PO.

2. June 10 Milwaukee 100, Flaherty, Pat, Offenhauser/Watson R, 98.846 mph, PO, NTR.

3. June 24 Langhorne 100, Amick, George, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 95.212 mph, D.

4. July 4 Darlington 200, O'Connor, Pat, Offenhauser/Templeton D, 124.883 mph, PO, NTR

5. July 14 Atlanta 100, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Clemens-Scopa D, Not Taken, D.

6. Aug. 18 Springfield 100, Bryan, Jimmy , Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 88.471 mph, PO.

7. Aug. 26 Milwaukee 250, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 92.736 mph PO.

8. Sept. 3 DuQuoin 100, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 91.706 mph, D.

9. Sept. 8 Syracuse 100, Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 90.804 mph, D NTR.

10. Sept. 15 Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 80.727 mph, D.

11. Oct. 21 Sacramento 100, Larson, Jud, Offenhauser/Watson D, 86.797 mph, D NTR,

12. Nov. 12 Phoenix 100, Amick, George, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 91.826 mph, D NTR.

The two leading teams, at the time the AAA called it quits (1955), were the John Zink and the Dean Van Lines. The Zink team operated out of Tulsa OA, where the Zink company manufactured furnaces, heaters, and allied plumbing equipment. Zink sponsored cars had first appeared on the Championship Trail in 1950 at Indianapolis where, with driver Cecil Green (1919-1951), they finished 4th overall. John Zink, Jr. (1928-2005) had hired a young charger, Bob Sweikert (1926-1956), and a crewcut mechanic, A.J. Watson, for the 1955 AAA campaign and the Sweikert-Watson combination won at Indianapolis with a normal Offenhauser/Kurtis KK5000 roadster and they then captured the 1955 AAA National Title using a Watson built dirt track machine. Watson, who was to become a major force in USAC for the next decade, had first come to Indianapolis in 1948 as a member of the Bob Estes (1913-2001) team from California..

The Dean Van Lines outfit was owned by dapper but big eared Al Dean (1906-1967), a Los Angeles CA moving van executive. An Al Dean sponsored car, a 1953 model Offy/Kuzma dirt car, had first appeared on the AAA Champ car circuit in May 1953 at Indianapolis. Just a little later, the Dean team, now being run by Clint Brawner (1916-1987), garnered its first win at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100 (September 26, 1953) with Bob Sweikert (1926-1956). Sweikert however quit Dean in late 1953 to move the Lutes Truck Parts outfit and then Al replaced him with the big motorized Arizonian cowboy, Jimmy Bryan. Bryan proved to be the top pilot of his era, 1954 to 1958. Jimmy, in 1954, was 2nd at Indy and won the 1954 AAA Championship Title. In 1955 with no points gained at Indianapolis, he was 2nd only to Bob Sweikert in year's final AAA rankings. Clint Brawner, who was always Dean's top mechanic, was the wrench twister both in 1954 and 1955.

The first USAC sanctioned Championship ranked race was the 1956 "500", which also opened the 1956 season. The 1956 "500" witnessed the appearance of a new rejuvenated and renovated Novi. The Novi, as a complete car, had first come to the Speedway in 1946 although the engine, designed by Ed (1901-1982) and Bud Winfield (d. 1950 at age 46), had been run in the 1941 "500", using an old 1935 front drive Ford/Miller chassis. The Novi engine itself was a 181 cubic inch twin double overhead cam V8. In 1945/46 Frank Kurtis was enlisted to build a long rakish front wheel drive chassis for this V8 powerplant and the Novi was now entered in the first post-World War II "500" (1946). The name "Novi" came from a small Michigan town , northwest of Detroit, where the car's owner, Lewis "Lew" W. Welch (1907-1980), resided. Mr. Welch was a close friend and an acquaintance of Henry Ford (1863-1947), and had gotten rich by manufacturing contracts given out by the Ford Motor Company, at the personal instigation of old Henry himself. The blueprints or working drawings for the original Novi project had been drawn up by Leo Goosen (1892-1974), and Fred Offenhauser (1888-1973) manufactured the engines.

In its first appearance at the Speedway (i.e. 1946) the car driven by Ralph Hepburn (1896-1948) , was an instant sensation, upping the indy lap record to 134.449 mph and the 4 lap qualification mark to 133.944 mph. In the 1946 race, the Novi led 44 laps, after starting 19th, before stalling out of the contest on the 122nd lap, thus beginning the long Novi saga of tough luck, In 1947, two identical "twin" Novi front drive machines first appeared, and thereafter the Novi team always consisted of two vehicles during their front drive era format (1947-1955). The two Novi cars were undoubtedly the fastest machines at Indianapolis during the period 1946 to 1949 but poor preparation, and bad luck prevented them from ever winning. Hepburn was killed in one in 1948 and another old veteran Chet Miller (1902-1953) suffered the same fate in 1953. Both accidents occurred in practice. Lew Welch, it might be noted, never tried to market his superchared V8 motor to other car owners or prospective buyers. Certainly the sale of some examples of the the of Winfield supercharged V8 would have greatly increased its winning potential, but Welch never went or traveled that route. Lew always retained the exclusive use of this powerplant.

(In this trait or particular Lew Welch had had a predecessor in spendthrift, wealthy, and madcap Joel Thorne (1914-1955). For 1938 Art Sparks (1901-1982) designed a supercharges 179 cubic inch straight 6 for Thorne. Sparks wanted to sell copies later, to raise much needed cash, but Joel wouldn't hear of it. One of these Sparks/Thorne supercharged straight 6's won at Indianapolis in 1946.)

By 1950 however, it might be reasonably argued that the two Novi racers, which were still making newspaper headlines, were in actual fact an anachronism. The cars were overweight, over complicated mechanically, tough on drivers and tires, and required more pit stops during a race, as they were superchared and ate more fuel, than the normally aspirated Meyer-Drake Offenhauser "270" 4's. The Novis after 1950 were being outrun even when they ran correctly, which was seldom during 1950 to 1955, by the less powerful unsuperchared Offy 270's, when installed in lighter and less complicated chassis of the type being produced by Kurtis and Kuzma. Still, Welch, who was a bit stingy with his money, continued to run the same basic design introduced in 1946 up to and including the 1955 Indianapolis classic! During 1950 to 1955 the Novis were running on their previously built reputation but to the trained eye they were no longer a viable concept. The Novi, still in front drive form, was at the Speedway in 1954 and 1955 but failed to qualify. Troy Ruttman (1930-1997) for 1955, decided to give the Novi a try, and ended up missing the 1955 "500" entirely. Troy had finished 1st in 1952 and 4th in 1954. However the fact that two seasoned veterans of the Speedway, Hepburn and Miller, had been killed in them by hitting the outside concrete wall head on at full speed, only increased the Novi's mythopoeia qualities among the general public.

But for 1956 Welch was forced to upgrade his cars if he still wished to compete and Frank Kurtis was in 1955, assigned to construct two totally new chassis for the Novi engines, though this time of the normal rear drive variety. It may well be that Kurtis was an unfortunate choice here because Frank, at his height as a car constructor in 1950 to 1955, was about to be in 1956 and 1957 replaced as the top U.S. car builder by both A.J. Watson and J. Quinn Epperly. 1956 was the beginning of a long and quick downward slide for Kurtis. But the two new Novis soon started making news again at Indianapolis.

Edited by john glenn printz, 09 January 2012 - 18:52.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-2) The driver Italian Giuseppe "Nino" Farina (1906-1966), the 1950 World Grand Prix Champion, was present with a special car utilizing a Kurtis chassis with a 269 cubic inch Ferrari 6 for power. Paul Russo (1914-1976) in one of the new Novis on May 16 quickly gained everyone's attention by turning a practice lap at 145.6 mph and the Novi-Russo combination instantly became the most feared entry at the Speedway. The official lap record at the time was Jack McGrath's (1919-1955) 143.79 mph, posted in the 1955 time trials.

Paul Russo had been around big league U.S. racing for a long time by 1956 and had started a car in the Indianapolis 500 in both 1940 and 1941. Paul's resume before 1950 showed three 2nd place finishes and two 3rds in Champ car competition. In late 1949 and early 1950 Russo and Raymond "Ray" Nichels (1922-2005) built a Champ car in Russo's basement which soon gained the sobriquet "Basement Bessie". The new Russo-Nichels' machine was perhaps a bit crude and simple but proved astonishingly effective. Paul had his only two AAA Championship wins in it, i.e. the 1950 Springfield 100 and the 1951 Detroit 100. In 1950 Russo had a tire let go at Phoenix (Nov. 12) on the 10th circuit and three other cars plowed into him and Bessie. Paul's Bessie overtuned and Russo emerged with a badly injured shoulder. At Darlington in early December 1950 Paul intended to drive it, but it proved impossible. Meanwhile Johnnie Parsons (1918-1984) was delayed in getting to the Darlington track and his original ride, owned by Jim Robbins, had been given to Joie Chitwood (1982-1988). So Russo and Nichels offered Parsons the ride in Basement Bessie. Parsons then drove it to victory in the inaugural December 12, 1950 Darlington 200 mile event, by averaging 104.65 mph. Later, after Bessie had been sold to H.A. Chapman, one legged Bill Schindler (1909-1952) took a victory ride in it at the Springfield 100 on August 16, 1952. It was Schindler's only Championship win.

Paul achieved his highest AAA seasonal Championship ranking in 1953, i.e. 5th, in final point tally being behind only Sam Hanks, Jack McGrath, Bill Vukovich, and Manuel Ayulo (1921-1955). He had already placed 7th, in the final 1949, 1950, and 1952 AAA point standings. In 1955 Russo and Tony Bettenhausen decided to jointly share the driving in the 1955 Indianapolis classic and the pair ended up 2nd. Tony drove laps 1-56, 134-200, while Russo took the car for circuits 57-133. Russo and Bettenhausen were among the original members of the so-called "Chicago Gang" and the two were always very good friends.

Paul had had an elder brother, Joe Russo (1901-1934), who had run in the AAA Championship division during 1931 to 1934. Fred Duesenberg (1876-1932) had died in July 1932, but his brother August "Augie" Duesenberg (1876-1955) carried on, in the AAA Championship ranks during 1933 and 1934. During 1933-1934 Augie's driver was Joe Russo and the pair finished 5th at Indianapolis in 1934. Joe died on June 10, 1934 from injuries sustained at Langhorne on the day before, in a 50 mile event. After 1934 Augie was out of Championship racing entirely, but then traveled to Utah in 1934 or 1935 to join up with and help the endurance record holder king, Ab Jenkins (1883-1956).

Here's an oral narration I heard about Joe Russo's death, take it how you will. The man who related it claimed he was an on-the-spot, eyewitness. He recalled that at Langhorne in the morning, on June 9, Joe and Billy Winn (1905-1938) had been in acrimonious and heated debate about Joe's wife. Winn took out Lou Moore's (1904-1956) two-man Miller for a few laps and returned saying that the car wasn't handling correctly and that he wouldn't drive it. Russo then took it for a spin, and came back in. Joe then yelled at Winn, "You are a damned coward! There's nothing wrong with the car and I'm going to drive it in the race.", to show Winn who was really the boss.

As we know, in the 50 mile event Joe lost control of Moore's Miller and the car overturned. Russo was thrown 75 feet and sustained a fractured skull, a broken jaw, and other internal injuries. Russo died the next day in Bristol, PA in the Harriman Hospital without having ever gained consciousness. The only certain facts here are that Russo was killed and that Joe's widow later married Billy Winn. Her maiden name had been Helene Yockey and she was a Detroit society horsewoman who owned two famous show horses named "Just Gold" and "My Beloved". Russo married Yockey on January 19, 1934 in Martinsville, IN. They had first met less than two weeks before! On May 1, 1934 Joe was quoted as saying, "My wife has never seen an automobile race and will make no decision about my driving until she gets a little first hand information about it." I was led to believe from the members of the IMS's Old Timers Club, that she was fairly well to do and owned a furniture factory located in Grand Rapids, MI. I often wondered what she looked like and eventually came upon a photograph of her in an old issue of the Bergen Herald.

Paul Russo's first participation in an actual race was as a riding mechanic for George Barringer (1906-1946) at Roby, IN in early 1931. Later in 1931 Paul procured a Model T Rajo special and started his racing career, but he soon switched to racing mostly midgets in the mid-1930s. In 1936 Russo moved up and into the AAA "big car" circuit in the mid-West. Eddie Russo (b. 1925), an AAA and USAC driver during 1952 to 1960 era, was Joe's son and thus Paul Russo's nephew. Joe must have been married once before he met Helene.

The first day of the 1956 qualifications saw 17 cars complete their runs with the top three being Pat Flaherty at 145.596 mph (a new track record), Jim Rathmann (145.120), and Pat O'Connor (144.980). Russo in the Novi was only eighth fastest at 143.546 but everyone still thought that he was going to be hard to beat on race day. Most of the second weekend of the time trials were rained out amid many complaints from those who didn't get a chance to run. Lew Welch threatened briefly to withdraw Russo's already qualified Novi if his second car wasn't given a trial to make the race, but Lew later backed off when his request was denied. Farina, in his Ferrari/Kurtis, couldn't get above 133 mph in practice but an unknown American rookie Earl Motter (1919-1992) later got Farina's hybrid up to 136, still two and a half miles an hour short of the slowest qualifier, Duke Dinsmore (1913-1985) at 138.430.

Frank Kurtis racers won Indy in 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955, and there were no less than 22 Kurtis built cars in the 1956 "500". A.J. Watson, on the other hand, had designed and constructed but a single roadster (his very first) for the 1956 "500". Now with Flaherty at the wheel it set new one (146.056 mph) and four lap (145.596 mph) qualification records, won the pole, and then proceeded to win the race, leading 127 laps in all. The win gave the John Zink team and Watson two consecutive Indianapolis victories, i.e. 1955 and 1956. Kurtis' star had begun to set and nothing coming from his shop would ever win the "500" again.

Russo, in the lone Novi, moved up quickly and led laps 11-21 before his right rear tire exploded on lap 22 in the first turn. Paul gave the outside concrete barrier a mighty clout and the right rear magnesium wheel completely disintergrated spraying the track with small metallic particles. It was widely speculated that the powerful Novi engine had literally spun the right rear tire on the wheel itself thus causing the valve stem to be sheared off, resulting in the blowout. The new Novi thus provided some real excitement and speed, crashing while in the lead, but was listed as finishing dead last in the 33rd postion.

The 1956 Indy race had an inordinate amount of tire blowouts caused, no doubt, by the cars picking up the metallic fragments from the Novi's broken wheel. Among the drivers who had tires let go were Byran, Herman, Dick Rathmann, Russo, Sweikert and possibly Crawford, Freeland, and Bettenhausen. With all the yellow lights from tire problems, the previous year's winner Bob Sweikert elected to delay his next stop for rubber, hoping to pit on the next yellow, instead of the green. And Bob did precisely that. But it was Sweikert's own tire that blew and caused the next yellow! The time lost here, helped put Bob only 6th, in the final results. It was a funny irony also in the week's pre-race festivities, with just the right precise timing, that Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. (1888-1973), had already received an award for always furnishing such good and safe tires for the "500".

The top five finishers for the 1956 Indianapolis 500 were;

1. Flaherty, Pat, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:53:28.84, 128.490 mph.

2. Hanks, Sam, Offenhauser/Kurtis R, 3:53:49.30, 128.303 mph.

3. Freeland, Don, Offenhauser/Phillips R, 3:54:59.07, 127.668 mph.

4. Parsons, Johnnie, Offenhauser/Kuzma R, 3:56:54.48, 126.631 mph.

5. Rathmann, Dick, Offenhauser/Kurtis R, 3:57:50.65, 126.133 mph.

Because of all the caution periods the 1956 race average of 128.490 mph was not a new record, and Bill Vukovich's (1918-1955) winning 1954 mark of 130.84 mph still stood. The winner Flaherty made just two pit stops during the race.

GEORGE FRANCIS PATRICK "PAT" FLAHERTY (1926-2002). Flaherty began his racing career in California in 1946 and ran in the California Roadster Association (CRA) against such later AAA stars as Manuel Ayulo, Don Freeland, Andy Linden, Jack McGrath, Jim Rathmann, and Troy Ruttman. By August 1948 Flaherty had moved to Chicago and joined the Grantatelli circuit known as the Hurricane Racing Association, which raced Hot-Rods at Soldier Field. Pat's first try at Indianapolis was in 1949 as a member of the Granatalli brothers' outfit. The mechanic assigned to the Flaherty car was A. J. Watson.

Flaherty was entered with a chassis powered by a Grancor souped up stock block 268 cu. in. Mercury V8. Pat qualified at 120.846 mph on the third day of the 1949 trials (May 21) but few observers thought it would be fast enough to make the field. On May 27 George Fonder (1917-1958) bumped Pat from the race by posting a 127.280, using an old 1938 model "little six" Sparks/Adams car. As it turned out Manuel Ayulo (1921-1955), a rookie, was the slowest qualifier in 1949 at 125.790 mph in a Bill Sheffer owned Offenhauser/Bromme. Flaherty did not make the 1949 race. Pat returned to the Speedway in 1950, again with the Granatelli crew, but this time with a much more suitable car, i.e. an Offenhauser/Kurtis KK3000. Flaherty started 11th and was running 10th when the 1950 "500" was stopped short at 345 miles because of rain.

During 1950, 1951, and 1952 Flaherty drove stock cars in the Chicago area and didn't return to Indianapolis until 1953. Flaherty had been under an AAA suspension during 1951 and 1952 but at a Contest Board meeting held in December 1952 he was reinstated pending payment of a $250 fine and by depositing a $500 bond. Another pilot who had been under an AAA suspension for both 1951 and 1952 was the 1949 Indianapolis winner, Bill Holland (1907-1984). Bill was reinstated at the same AAA meeting pending a $500 fine and the posting a bond of $2500! For 1953 both Flaherty and Holland made the 1953 Indianapolis starting lineup.

Holland had originally been suspended on November 14, 1950 for participating in a non-AAA race held at the 1/2 mile dirt Opa Locke Speedway (Miami), FL on November 12, 1950. The ban began on November 14 and was to be for just one year (1951) but the AAA didn't like Bill's later comments or attitude, and later extended his ban for a second season (1952). At the time Bill had had four Indianapolis starts, placing 2nd in 1947, 1948, and 1950, with a win in 1949; all when driving for car owner Lou Moore (1904-1956). Holland was strictly a "money driver" and only contested for the AAA National Championship Driving Title itself during 1947. Bill regarded the AAA National Championship dirt track races as very low paying events, and of very little monetary value. Holland always felt he could make more money running sprint cars.

At Indy in 1953 Flaherty drove for car owner Peter Schmidt in another Offenhauser/KK3000. Pat started 24th and was up to 5th at 250 miles but then crashed after the completion of 115 circuits. For the 1954 "500" Pat was entered with an KK500A installed with a Chrysler V8, but it didn't pan out and Flaherty next linked up with Harry Dunn of Detroit who had a conventional Offenhauser/KK500B. Still Flaherty missed qualifying for the race. Anticipating another hot, muggy, race day like that of 1953, many teams decided to line up relief drivers for possible use in the 1954 "500". Flaherty was hired by car owner Ed Walsh for possible relief duty for the three cars Ed had in the race, piloted by Art Cross, Sam Hanks, and Jim Rathmann. During the race, on lap 96, Flaherty replaced Jim but later crashed the Walsh Offenhauser/KK500C on circuit 111 when he and Jimmy Daywalt tangled and locked wheels. The Jim Rathmann/Ed Walsh car thus finished a poor 28th overall in the final results.

For the 1955 Championship season Flaherty drove in only the paved oval contests, of which there were just three, one at Indianapolis and two at Milwaukee. Pat drove Dunn's Offenhauser/KK500B in all three. At Indianapolis he started 12th and placed 10th. In the Milwaukee 100 (June 5) Pat finished 3rd. His next AAA Championship start occurred at Milwaukee in the big 250 (August 28), the second most important U.S. race of the year. 39 cars were entered in the Milwaukee 250 with the 26 fastest to start. Pat was quick in practice and qualified 2nd only to the pole winner Ed Elisian (1926-1959).

Flaherty led the last 55 circuits after the leader Art Cross (1918-2005), on his final pit stop, lost three minutes because of a stalled motor. Pat's Dunn Engineering Special began losing its clutch ten laps from the finish when Bettenhausen was 46 seconds behind, running in 2nd. On the last circuit (lap 250) the clutch went out completely and Flaherty had to coast to the finish line, beating Bettenhausen by 5 seconds. The victory by the Dunn-Flaherty combination was certainly most unexpected. Pat's time was 2:27:59.418 for an average of 95.03 mph. The 1955 Indy "Rookie of the Year", Al Herman (1927-1960), was burned when fuel spilled onto the hot exhaust pipe during a refueling miscue, on a pit stop.

Sweikert and car owner John Zink won both the Indianapolis 500 and the AAA National Championship Title for 1955, but spilt up after the 1955 season. Zink, for one thing, didn't like Bob competing in the dangerous the AAA sprint car circuit, but Sweikert wished to continue running on it. So now, for 1956, Zink needed a new replacement pilot for Sweikert and he and A. J. Watson decided to go after Flaherty. Pat however, after his big win at Milwaukee, didn't want to quit Harry Dunn. Eventually however after much coaxing from Zink himself, Pat joined the Zink team for the 1956 USAC season. After his win at Indianapolis in 1956, Flaherty and Zink decided to go after the very first USAC National Championship Title. Up to now Pat had never been a regular combatant or runner for the National Driving Title as such, but now it meant that he would have to drive all the dirt Championship ovals as well. Flaherty hitherto had been mostly a pavement driver.

EVENTS AFTER THE 1956 INDIANAPOLIS. Flaherty won again, in his Indy winning Offenhauser/Watson roadster, at Milwaukee less than two weeks later (June 18) and it was beginning to look like the John Zink team might win its second consecutive U.S. National Title. But at Springfield (August 18), Flaherty was involved in a very bad crash and was out for the rest of the year. As a matter of fact, Flaherty was entirely out of Championship division action until August 1958. Another top contender eliminated for the 1956 USAC Title was Bob Sweikert, who had become a top star in 1955. Sweikert was killed in a 25 lap feature sprint event at Salem, IN (June 17) when his car went over the wall and somersaulted down an embankment.

Another "name" pilot who perished even before the 1956 USAC Championsip season had gotten underway was pint size (5 feet, 4 inches) Walt Faulkner (1920-1956). Nicknamed the "Little Dynamo" Walt was a California midget and big car driver. Faulkner in his rookie year, 1950, on the AAA National Championship circuit had proved an unexpected sensation. At Indianapolis he won the pole by posting new one lap (136.013 mph) and four lap (134.343 mph) marks. During the entire 1950 season Walt was in contention for the AAA Title even to the very last race, staged at Darlington in December. Here Walt was just nosed out for the AAA Title by a very unlikely winner, Henry Banks (1913-1994)!

After 1950 Faulkner was never able to match his results in his first year in the AAA Championship ranks, but in 1951 he again set new one (138.122 mph) and four lap (136.872 mph) qualifications records at Indianapolis. Faulkner shows three AAA Championship victories; 1. 1950 Milwaukee 200 (Aug. 18); 2. 1951 Darlington 250 (July 4); and 3. 1951 Milwaukee 200 (Aug. 26). His best finish at Indianapolis, in five tries, was 5th in 1955. Walt had started racing career in 1939. Walt's end came on April 22, 1956 while he was qualifying for a stock car race at Vallejo, CA. His car blew a tire at 70 mph and flipped over five times, with Walt hanging half way out of it, and then the car rolled on him. Apparently a safety shoulder strap had failed and Faulkner expired a few hours later in the Vallejo General Hospital.

The 1956 USAC National Championship Titlist proved to be the stalwart Jimmy Bryan, who had gained no points at Indianapolis after blowing a tire and spinning out, but the 1954 AAA champ came on strong during the second half of the 1956 season winning at Springfield, Milwaukee, DuQuoin, and the Indianapolis Fairgrounds. These four victories along with two seconds (Syracuse and Phoenix) and one third (Sacramento), put the popular Bryan on top. The John Zink team, in addition to Pat Flaherty, also used drivers Ed Elisian (1926-1959) and Jud Larson, and Jud came through for it, winning at Sacramento (October 21). Bryan drove the Al Dean owned 1953 Offenhauser/Kuzma dirt car all season except at Indianapolis where he drove a 1955 Offenhauser/Kuzma roadster.

The final top ten USAC Championship driver rankings for 1956 were: 1. Jimmy Bryan 1860 points, 2. Pat Flaherty 1500, 3. Don Freeland 1280, 4. George Amick 1050, 5. Jimmy Reece 1040, 6. Johnny Boyd 980, 7. Bob Veith 903, 8. Rodger Ward 862, 9. Sam Hanks 800, and 10. Johnny Thomson 710.
.

Edited by john glenn printz, 06 January 2012 - 19:10.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-3) 1957 SEASON (13 races).

The season's thirteen winners, plus Monza:

1. May 30 Indianapolis 500, Hanks, Sam, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 135.601 mph, PO NTR.

2. June 2 Langhorne 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 100.174 mph, D NTR.

3. June 9 Milwaukee 100, Ward Rodger, Offenhauser/Lesovsky s/c R, 97.789 mph, PO.

4. June 23 Detroit 100, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Jimmy D, 86.900 mph, D.

5. July 4 Atlanta 100, Amick, George, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 89.995 mph D NTR.

6. Aug. 17 Springfield 100, Ward Rodger, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 96.015 mph, D NTR.

7. Aug. 25 Milwaukee 200, Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Epperly R, 98.133 mph, PO NTR.

8. Sept. 2 DuQuinn 100, Larson, Jud, Offenhauser/Watson D, 90.948 mph, D.

9. Sept. 7 Syracuse 100, George, Elmer, Offenhauser/Kurtis-Watson D, 94.294 mph, D NTR.

10. Sept. 14 Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100, Larson, Jud, Offenhauser/Watson D, 91.751 mph, D NTR.

11. Sept. 29 Trenton 100, O'Connor, Pat, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 100.279 mph, PO NTR.

12. Oct. 20 Sacramento 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 90.965 mph, D NTR.

13. Nov. 11 Phoenix 100, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 86.001 mph, D.

Addendum:

14. June 29 Monza, Italy 500, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma R, 160.060 mph PO NTR.

In 1957, the USAC Championship schedule began, as in 1956, at Indianapolis. The engine displacement limits for Championship cars were lowered in 1957 for the first time since 1938. The new regulations, which were merely a slight reducement of the International Grand Prix formula of 1938 in use at the Speedway since that time, called for 2.8 litres supercharged (170.8 cubic inches) and 4.2 litres (256.2 cubic inches unsupercharged). The 1938 Grand Prix formula had been 3 litres supercharged (183 cubic inches) and 4 1/2 litres unsupercharged (274.5 cubic inches).

A.J. Watson returned to Indianapolis as head mechanic of the John Zink team with two cars, a new roadster just completed by himself and the winning machine of 1956. The new car was assigned to the 1952 "500" winner, Troy Ruttman, while the ex-Flaherty 1956 vehicle was put into the hands of rookie Jud Larson. Larson, who was not a good pilot generally on pavement, was bumped from the lineup while Ruttman posted the fifth fastest clocking in the trials at 142.772 mph and would start race day on the outside of front row.

Lew Welch was back with his two Novis now in the hands of Paul Russo and Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. Paul Russo proved to be the fastest qualifier on May 26 at 144.817 which was not a track record and would start 10th. Pat O'Connor (1928-1958) using a Offenhauser/Kurtis 500G had won the pole earlier on May 18 with 143.948 mph.

George Salih (1914-1984), who had won Indy in 1951 as a co-mechanic with driver Lee Wallard (1911-1963), came to the track with a new type of roadster featuring a standard Offenhauser engine laid on its side, 18 degrees from horizontal, instead of upright. The new concept was Salih's own but Quinn Epperly actually built the car. The idea was to get better handling in Indy's four corners and to cut down the wind resistance. A 42 year old seasoned veteran, Sam Hanks (1914-1994), was given this mount and he qualified for the 13th starting position at 142.812 mph. Hanks had been running at the Speedway since 1940 and had collected two thirds (1952 & 1953) and one second (1956).

Before the actual start of the 1957 "500" there was an incident. Elmer George's (1928-1976) car wouldn't fire at the starting command, and the now 32 car pack moved away for the parade lap. Then George's engine fired up and now Elmer had to hurry to take his rightful place in the starting lineup, now moving slowly behind the pace car. George caught up with the 32 car field as it was going down the back straight. Elmer, moving on the inside and much more quickly than the other 32 cars, found an open spot and quickly swerved into it, and crashed into the back of Eddie Russo's car, putting both machines, i.e. George's and Russo's, out of the race. The hit took place right in the middle of the backstretch, directly in front of where I was sitting. It was the first accident I ever witnessed at Indianapolis and it had happened before the race had even started. In the previous years there had always been standby "alternative starters" in case a car or two couldn't start, but in 1957 they had made no such provisions. So when the green flag fell, only 31 cars actually started.

The 1957 "500" itself was completely dominated by Hanks in the new layover engined car and the combination led 123 laps, including the last 66. Hanks averaged 135.601 mph for the distance and all the top ten finishers broke the previous race record of 130.840 mph. Ruttman led four laps (5-6 & 10-11) before being forced out with an overheating motor after just 13 circuits. Incredible as it may seem, Watson and his crew, had failed to put any coolant in the radiator and after 13 laps the motor seized up solid for a lack of water! That was all for the mightly John Zink-A.J. Watson assault on Indianapolis in 1957.

Russo, in the Novi, had led circuits 12-35 before being overhauled on the backstretch by a determined Sam Hanks. Russo's car seemed to be very rough to handle compared to Hank's layover job, and Russo, though he was trying hard eventually ran further and further behind Sam on each lap. At 75 miles (30 laps) the two Novis were running first and third but then Bettenhausen had throttle linkage problems and Tony quickly plummeted in the standings. As the event wore on Jim Rathmann and Jimmy Bryan also managed to pass Russo. At the end poor Bettenhausen was flagged off in the 15th position after completing 195 laps. Russo finished fourth overall which was a great disappointment to the Novi fans but it was still the best Novi finish since Duke Nalon (1913-2001) took a third in a front drive model, back in 1948.

The top five finishers for the 1957 Indianapolis 500 were;

1. Hanks, Sam, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:41:14.25, 135.601 mph (new record).

2. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Epperly R, 3:41:35.75, 135.382 mph.

3. Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kumza R, 3:43:28.25, 134.246 mph.

4. Russo, Paul, Novi/Kurtis R, 3:44:11.10, 133.818 mph.

5. Linden, Andy, Offenhauser/Kurtis R, 3:44:28.55, 133.645 mph.

Hanks announced his complete retirement from racing in Victory Circle and, except for an already made commitment to drive Mercuries on the USAC stock car circuit, Sam never drove in competition again. Hanks, who had been the AAA National Championship in 1953, was therefore not a contender for the 1957 USAC Title. Nor probably was Jim Rathmann, the second place Indy finisher, because he didn't like to run on dirt.

Edited by john glenn printz, 19 September 2009 - 19:44.

[ZOOOM]

GREAT stuff so far, John... Keep it comming.

I was at the '56 and '57 races and saw Russo hit the wall in the Novi in '56. You were right that several cars had tire problems. I remember many comming in to the pits with the right rear tires blown.
At the time, IIRC, the story was that Firestone changed to filling the tires with air for the race instead of Nitrogen.
I tend to believe that story. All the tires I saw damaged were right rears. If they were shreded by pieces off the track, wouldn't that affect all the tires on the cars?
Not just the right rear?

What are your thoughts?

ZOOOM

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-4) An important item occurred during early June 1957 which needs to be discussed. This was the announcement, on June 6, 1957, by the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) that all the major U.S. makers had agreed to cease participating in any kind of motorsport, in any capacity whatever. The genesis of this pact was as follows;

The U.S. passenger car manufacturers had stayed completely away from U.S. Championship racing since 1923 when Packard had a team, except for Studebaker in 1932-1933 and a quasi-official Ford team in 1935. But the industry had gotten involved in the 1950s with the more innocuous, less costly, and less dangerous sport of stock car racing. Hudson, for example, had made quite a name for itself in NASCAR using driver Marshall Teague (1921-1959), during 1951 and 1952. Soon the larger American car producers, the so-called "Big-Three" (GM, Ford, and Chrysler), got involved with NASCAR racing also. Here was a species of U.S. motor car racing where, at first, with a rather small cash outlay, one could reap seemingly huge financial rewards in the form of increased car sales resulting directly from victories at the race tracks. It was also good, if successful, for make morale and prestige. The average stock car fan never had much trouble projecting that the winning Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, etc. was almost an exact replica of the vehicle which he used everyday. The average American male however, cannot "identify" very readily, with an exotic and thoroughbred Grand Prix vehicle or an AAA or USAC Championship car.

So the Big-Three (Chrysler, Ford, and GM) had all supported stock car racing (NASCAR) in the mid and late 1950s. And very soon they had all come under attack, both from the press and the politicians (the latter are always on the make and looking for quick opportunities), for supposely emphasizing speed, power, and performance, over the much more important but mundane safety issues. For instance, a U. S. Senator (Richard Lewis Neuberger, 1912-1960, from Oregon) had introduced into the Congressional Record (July 7, 1955) a call for the total abolishment of all motor racing in the United States.

Another problem which had arisen by late 1956 and early 1957 was that the competition in the NASCAR ranks was now just between the Big-Three alone, and was beginning to cost each corporation enormous sums of money. The upshot of all these factors was the AMA announcement of June 6, 1957. The AMA pronouncement of June 6 didn't have much of an effect on then current USAC Championship division, as the U.S. automobile manufacturers were not directly involved in it in any case, but the AMA stance was symptomic of the pre-Ralph Nader (b. 1934) problems faced in the auto industry.

Edited by john glenn printz, 14 September 2009 - 16:34.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-5) On October 21, 1956 ex-driver and now USAC's Competition Director, Duane Carter (1913-1993), announced that ten pilots from the 1956 Indianapolis 500 would compete in a 500 miler to be held in Monza, Italy, on June 30, 1957. Although this event was non-Championship, it was probably the most important outing during the year for the Championship cars except for Indianpolis itself. The track to be used was a 2.6 mile highly banked oval. The Monza 500 came soon to hailed as a "Race of Two Worlds", for the European Grand Prix aces and car makers were supposed to compete in it also, notwithstanding the obvious fact that the Europeans had no adequate cars, tires, or past experience for this type of contest. Grand Prix racing in 1957 was run under a 2.5 litre (165 cubic inches) engine size restriction unsupercharged while the larger USAC style Champ cars were allowed up to 4.2 litres (256 cubic inches) unsupercharged and, of course, the Grand Prix machines were not the highly specialized left turn oval track vehicles that the Indy roadsters were.

The two leading Italian manufacturers of racing cars, Ferrari and Maserati, who at first were going to enter special cars, ultimately withdrew when their entries, a 4.1 litre V12 Ferrari and a 3.5 litre Maserati made for Jean Behra (1921-1959) proved to be too slow to be competitive against the Americans. The Grand Prix drivers, on their own, finally boycotted the event as too dangerous. During the last Italian Grand Prix (September 5, 1956), partally held on the 2.6 mile oval, tires had flown apart and the chassis had broken (for the banking was very rough) while running at speeds considerably below the those now being turned in, in practice, by the American Indy cars. Somewhat naturally then the Grand Prix pilots were very apprehensive and besides they had no cars to drive in any case.

The race organizers, the Automobile Club of Milan, were lucky to enlist three D type Jaguars, all from the Scottish team of Ecurie Ecosse, to run against the Americans. Two of these Jags had run recently at LeMans and, as well, these three cars were not open wheel thoroughbred racing cars, being all designed and built specifically for the French 24 Hours LeMans sports car endurance test. These three vehicles, the only European entries to actually appear, were not considered to be much of a threat to the Americans at Monza.

The whole Monza affair however had its positive aspects as well. The European motorsports journalists went agog over the unexpected (to them) high practice speeds, then the posted qualification times, and lastly by the race itself. The foreign press was amused also by all the wildly diversified painted American racing cars, the colorful decals, the sponsor-advertising names on all the U.S. cars, instead of the actual make, which was nowhere to be found! Back in 1957, if you remember that far back, all the Grand Prix cars still ran with their national assigned colors; red-Italy, green-Great Britain, blue-France, white-German, etc. Likewise the craftsmanship of the U.S. Indy cars was greatly admired but the hoary antiquity (early 1930!) of the engineering exhibited by the Offenhauser engines and the naivete and simplicity of the space frame chassis astonished the Old World!

But there was no denial anywhere of the very high speeds being obtained. The top five qualifiers being;

1. Bettenhauser, Tony, Novi/Kurtis, 176.826 mph NTR.

2. O'Connor, Pat, Offenhauser/Kurtis, 173.468 mph.

3. Linden, Andy, Offenhauser/Kurtis, 171.933 mph.

4. Veith, Bob, Offenhauser/Phillips, 171.099 mph.

5. Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kurtis, 169.375 mph.

After Bettenhausen had posted his time, a wealthy Italian wanted to meet him. When the Italian met Tony he immediately blurted out, "You, crazy!." The fastest of the three Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars was John Lawrence at 151.635 mph. The Monza 500 was run in three heats of 166.32 miles each as a safety measure, as it was anticipated that there might indeed be tire problems. As it happened there were no tire problems at all but it was a very lucky break for the Yanks, that the contest had been divided into three equal parts. The Monza oval was very rough and the one hour intervals between the heats gave the Americans needed time in which to repair their cracked frames, lose and split fuel tanks, and the broken and collapsed shock absorbers.

The first two heats were won by Jimmy Bryan, who finished second to Troy Ruttman in the final. The U.S. Indianapolis roadsters were proving to be very frail indeed, on the bumpy high banks of Monza. Nine started in Heat I, eight in Heat II, and just five in Heat III. Only three American cars were still moving at the finish. The three Jaguars could only lap at about 145 mph, i.e. 15 to 20 mph slower than the fastest Indy machines, but they proved steady and as they did not encounter any chassis or fuel tank problems, they placed fourth, fifth, and sixth.

The final top five positions for this highly unusual event were:

1. Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kuzma, "Dean Van Lines Special", 3:07:05.9, 189 laps, 160.06 mph.

2. Ruttman, Troy, Offenhauser/Watson, "John Zink Special", 3:07:05.6, 187 laps, 159.20 mph.

3. Parsons, Johnnie, Offenhauser/Kurtis, "Agajanian Special", 3:07:29.0, 182 laps, 158.20 mph.

4. Fairman, Jack, Jaguar Type D, Ecurie Ecosse, 3:08.03.9, 177 laps.

5. Lawrence, John, Jaguar Type D, Ecurie Ecosse, 3:09:38.9, 171 laps.

Despite the fact that the 1957 Monza 500 lost money and was poorly attended, the race was considered a success of sorts as eveyone present had a rousing good time. The Monza 500 would be renewed for 1958.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 18:32.

[john glenn printz]

To Mr. "ZOOOM"...

I don't know what the final conclusions were among the Firestone tire engineers and/or others, with regard to the tire problems encountered during the 1956 Indianapolis 500. Most of the cars had no tire problems at all, like the race winner, Pat Flaherty.

The right rear tires would take more abuse and punishment, and wear down quicker, than those on the other three wheels, whether there were metallic particles on the track or not. So I think they, i.e. the right rears, would be generally the first to blow, in whatever circumstances. However, at present, I have no further information on the subject.

If you witnessed Indy races from 1956 on, I think this continuing writeup, i.e. 1956 to 1962, will probably jog a few memories.

Sincerely, J.G. Printz

Edited by john glenn printz, 15 September 2009 - 11:34.

[john glenn printz]

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-6) And now to return to the 1957 Championship season proper after Indianapolis. Roger Ward won the most races, just three. They were the Milwaukee 100, Springfield, and Sacramento, and Rodger was then driving for Roger Gould Walcott (1893-1958) with Herb Porter (d. 1999 at age 84) as the head mechanic. Ward won the Milwakee 100 of June 9 using a 166 cubic inch supercharged Offy. This was the first victory for a supercharged powered car on the Championship trail since Bettenhausen's win at Detroit on September 11, 1949 using a vehicle owned by Dale Drake (d. 1972 at age 70) and Louis Meyer (1904-1995), equipped with a special Offenhauser midget motor enlarged to 107 cubic inches.

The Zink-Watson combine used Troy Ruttman, Jud Larson, and Jimmy Reece (1929-1958) as their pilots and Larson won twice on the dirt, i.e. at DuQuoin and the Indianapolis Fairgrounds. Jimmy Bryan won just two races all year, i.e. Detroit and Phoenix, but still accumulated enough points to capture his third U.S. National Driving Title in just four years for his car owner Al Dean and his mechanic Clint Brawner. Jim Rathman, who placed second in the year's final standings, ran in only six races. Jim had gained most of his Championship points at Indy and from a victory in the Milwaukee 200. The highest placed Zink driver in the final USAC rankings was Jud Larson in fifth.

The final top ten USAC Championship driver standings for 1957 were: 1, Jimmy Bryan 1650 points, 2. Jim Rathmann 1470, 3. George Amick 1400, 4. Pat O'Connor 1250, 5. Jud Larson 1170, 6. Andy Linden 1130, 7. Johnny Thomson 1110, 8. Johnny Boyd 1040, 9. Sam Hanks 1000, and 10. Elmer George 830. Rodger Ward, with his three wins, managed only 11th in the year's standing with a total of 740 points.

Edited by john glenn printz, 12 October 2009 - 14:23.

[ZOOOM]

John, IIRC the car that Ward won with at Milwaukee was called the "bent engine 8 ball" The car had an Offy mounted in front, upright, but canted from left to right (front to back), so the drive shaft could pass the driver on the right and the engine would be mostly on the left side of the chassis. Ward seemed to like it!
ZOOOM

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-7) 1958 SEASON (13 RACES).

The season's thirteen 1958 winners plus Monza were;

1. March 30, Trenton 100, Sutton, Len, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 95.527 mph, PO.

2. May 30, Indianapolis 500, Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 133.791 mph, PO.

3. June 8, Milwaukee 100, Bisch, Art, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 94.013 mph, PO.

4. June 15, Langhorne 100, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 91.977 mph, D.

5. July 4, Atlanta 100, Larson, Jud, Offenhauser/Watson D, 87.146 mph, D.

6. Aug, 16, Springfield 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 98.137 mph, D NTR.

7. Aug. 24, Milwaukee 200, Ward, Roger, Offenhauser/Lesovsky R, 97.864 mph, PO.

8. Sept. 1, DuQuoin 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 94.753 mph, D NTR.

9. Sept. 9, Syracuse 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 94.953 mph, D NTR.

10. Sept. 13, Indianaoolis Fairgrounds, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 92.142 mph, D NTR.

11. Sept. 28, Trenton 100, Ward, Roger, Offenhauser/Lesovsky R, 99.368 mph, PO.

12. Oct. 26, Sacramento 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 89.175 mph, D NTR.

13. Nov.11, Phoenix 100, Larson, Jud, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 92.738 mph, D.

Addendum:

14. June 29, Monza, Italy 500, Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 166.722 mph, PO NTR.

The USAC season in 1958 began at Trenton where Len Sutton (1925-2006) notched his first Championship win in a Kuzma dirt track machine. Next on the schedule was Indianapolis.

The AMA industry pact of June 6, 1957 had two minor effects at Indy in 1958. The auto manufacturers were afraid to purchase advertising in the official "500" program (only Chevrolet did) and the Speedway itself was forced to buy the pace car given to the race winner. It had been a tradition, started by Packard in 1936 at the insistence of Tommy Milton (1893-1962), that the pace car be given to the winner and supplied by the industry. Now even that innocent gesture was looked upon with dire suspicion!

Indianapolis in 1958, proved to be largely a contest between the four roadsters of A. J. Watson's construction and the three existing layover Offenhauser type roadsters built by Quinn Epperly. Watson had two new roadsters at the track, piloted by Dick Rathman (1926-2000) and Jimmy Reece, while the ex-Flaherty 1956 Indy winning machine was put again in the hands of Jud Larson. The 1957 vehicle, which Troy Ruttman had driven at both Indianapolis and Monza in 1957, was given to Ed Elisian (1926-1959). Ed's real name, by the way, was Edward Gulbeng Eliseian.

Epperly, after the winning success of the Salih layover at Indy in 1957, had now constructed two additional and similar cars for the 1958 "500". These two new vehicles were in the hands of rookie George Amick (1928-1959) and the seasoned veteran, Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. The older 1957, ex-Hanks layover, was now being chauffeured by Jimmy Bryan, who had quit the Dean Van Lines stable after four very successful seasons, 1954 to 1957. Jimmy had 17 total Championship victories while with Al Dean's stable, i.e. 5 in 1954, 6 in 1955, 4 in 1956 and 2 in 1957. And all of them took place with the same exact car, a 1953 Eddie Kuzma built dirt track machine. Bryan had also piloted it to 2nd place overall at Indianapolis in 1954. Here the car broke its springs and its shock absorbers had collasped late in the race, beating the very strongly built Bryan to a pulp, but the determined and stubborn Jimmy stayed with it. This 1953 dirt machine was probably the most successful Championship car that Eddie Kuzma ever constructed.

The time trials were monopolized by the Watson machines which won the entire front row. Dick Rathman took the pole with a 145.974 mph (a new track record), next was Ed Elisian at 145.926 mph which included a new one lap record of 146.508 mph, and third came Jimmy Reece at 145.513 mph.

The race itself was anti-climaxic. For both 1957 and 1958 "500s" the cars were not lined up on the track before the race as always hitherto, but were started while still in the pit area itself. After all the 33 competitors were ready, the signal was given for them to move onto the track itself, where they were to form into eleven rows of three. In 1958 just before the anticipated parade lap, the entire front row of D. Rathmann, Elisian, and Reece, moved onto the track before the Pontiac pace car and the entire rest of the 33 car field. It was a mixup of some sort, but the first row quickly travelled half a lap before the pace car and the remaining 30 competitors moved out! There was no radio communication with the drivers back then, and not knowing what to do the front row slowed down, hoping the pace car and the rest of the competitors would move up and catch them from behind. But after a time, nothing appeared in back of them.

So suddenly all three members of the front row decided to speed up and catch the field from behind. However, at that same moment the pace car and his compatriots decided to speed up, to catch Rathmann, Elisian, and Reece! So after a short time elasped the front three slowed down to allow the remaining field of 33 to catch them! At the same time the pace car and its 30 car followers cut its speed to allow the front three another opportunity to catch up! The whole incident here is one of those in which only the people who actually witnessed it, could possibly believe it happened. It was similar to the gags in a Buster Keaton (1895-1966) comedy and in fact Buster used the same exact motif in his 1924 film THE NAVIGATOR. Here Keaton and Kathyn McGuire (1903-1978) are chasing each other on a large boat but can't quite see the other person involved, and they alternately slow down and speed up, all at the same exact instant, and cannot ever seem to gain any ground on the other!

After an extra lap or two of this pure, but unintentional, mayhem, Rathmann, Elisian, and Reece speeded up and caught the field exiting the 4th turn. They then passed everyone on the front straight and moved into their right placements, i.e. the one, two, and three spots in front of everybody. Not an instant later chief stewart Harlan Fengler (1903-1988) flashed on the green and the chase was on. Even I was surprized. I thought that one more lap was needed to calm eveyone down and to somewhat settled the situation. As it was, the 33 car pack got through turns one and two OK, but not turn three.

Ed Elisian, on the very first lap and while in the lead, lost all control in the third turn and slammed into the outside concrete wall. His car then bounced back in front of the entire field and in the ensuning chaos rookie Jerry Unser (1932-1959) went over the outside wall and popular Pat O'Connor (1928-1958) died in the carnage. Dick Rathmann's machine was torn completely in two but Dick emerged from the accident without a scratch! Eight cars were eliminated at the spot and many others were stalled out and sitting in the infield grass. Meanwhile Jimmy Bryan had grabbed the lead in the resultant confusion.

The first lap pileup was particularly disastrous for Watson's fortunes as the cars of Dick Rathmann and Elisian were put out and Reece's machine was damaged. A largely decimated pack continued on, under yellow, for the first 18 laps. Some of the cars still running had suffered damage.

Both Novis were in the race and were being driven by Paul Russo and Bill Cheesbourg (1927-1995). Neither had qualified exceptionally well but after the first lap crash Russo's car seemed to be as fast as anybody's. But unfortunately Russo's Novi too, had been involved in the first lap shunt and its radiator had been damaged. The team couldn't keep water in the car, even with the adopted expedient of trying to use tar taken from the pit lane surface itself, to plug up the leaks, and the machine was retired after 133 laps.

The three Epperly built layovers, however, had come through the wreckage unscathed and the rest of the race was mostly a battle between them with Bryan having the upper hand most of the time. The 1958 "500" ended with the three Epperly layover type roadsters finishing 1st, 2nd, and 4th. Reece, with his damaged Watson, was 6th and Larson in the remaining Watson entry took 8th. Cheesbourg in the second Novi kept running all day, but the best he could manage was 10th. Tony Bettenhausen's 4th place finish was the first time ever, in 12 tries, that he had completed all 200 laps without relief! Bryan's winning car weighed 1650 pounds dry and its 252 cubic inch Meyer-Drake Offenhauser motor was rated at about 300 horsepower at 6000 rpms.

The top five finisher for the 1958 Indianapolis 500 were;

1. Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:44:13.80, 133.791 mph.

2. Amick, George, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:44:41.45, 133.517 mph.

3. Boyd, Johnny, Offenhauser/Kurtis R, 3:45:23.75, 133.099 mph.

4. Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:45.45.60, 132.855 mph.

5. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Epperly R, 3:45:49.45 mph, 132.847 mph.

In 1958 Quinn Epperly and the layover type Offenhauser powered roadsters were at the height of their success and the layover innovation of 1957 and 1958 were highly touted at the Speedway. But one English observer, Peter Easton, was unimpressed. Easton wrote in July 1958, "As usual there was very little radically new, technically speaking, at least to our way of thinking. After all, when we think of wizard Enzo Ferrari, producing several entirely new engines of different capacity and cylinder lay-out every season, we can hardly be expected to be very thrilled because one of the Indianapolis constructers has tilted the age old Meyer-Drake (Offenhauser) engine by a few degrees to get a lower frontal area! However, this is reckoned to be a big thing here - or to coin a favorite Americanism just now - a major engineering breakthrough!"

It is worth mentioning that the five-time (i.e. 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957) World Grand Prix Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio (1911-1995), was at the Speedway in May 1958. Fangio passed the driving test, but declined to complete. Actually, Fangio was near the end of his fabulous career and retired for good after taking a fourth in the French Grand Prix held on July 6, 1958. Jimmy Bryan also, after having finally won the "500" in eight tries, decided to take it easy now and not compete further on the 1958 USAC Championship Trail, though he did run at Monza, Italy on June 29. This left the door open for a new USAC National Driving Champion to emerge as Bryan had won both the two previous USAC Championship division titles in 1956 and 1957.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 18:55.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-8) The second and last Monza 500, classed again as a non-Championship contest by USAC, was staged on June 29. Unlike the previous year, this time both Ferrari and Maserati built competitive cars. Stirling Moss (b.1929), the British ace, was in a special 4.2 litre V8 "Eldorado" Maserati sponsored by an Italian ice cream firm, while the Italian pilot Luigi Musso (1924-1958) was placed aboard a special 4.1 litr Ferrari. Juan Manuel Fangio was given the Dean Van Lines, Kuzma built roadster which Jimmy Bryan had won in the year before. Bryan himself was entered using the Epperly layover which had won both the 1957 and 1958 Indianapolis 500s. The five fastest qualifying times are given below and surprisingly Musso had the top speed.

1. Musso, Luigi, Ferrari V12 Tipo 412 "M/I", 174.653 mph.

2. Veith, Bob, Offenhauser/Kurtis, 173.274 mph.

3. Fangio, Juan Manuel, Offenhauser/Kuzma, 171.400 mph.

4. Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kurtis, 171.400 mph.

5. Freeland, Don, Offenhauser/Phillips, 170.989 mph.

Like the previous year's event the contest was divided into three equal heats of 63 laps each. Jim Rathmann won them all by averaging 166.72 mph for the 500 mile distance. It was, at that time, the fastest motor race ever held. Both Moss and Musso proved to be competitive in their Italian mounts. Musso had to be relieved by Mike Hawthorn (1929-1959) and Phil Hill (1927-2008), and this trio finished third overall. Moss retired after 164 circuits with steering failure. The major disappointment was Fangio. A cracked piston had to replaced at the very last minute and the entry missed the first two heats. The rather hastily reassembled car started the final heat but lasted only two laps before the fuel pump quit.

The final top five finishing positions were:

1. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, "John Zink Special", 2:59.37.3, 189 laps, 166.722 mph.

2. Bryan, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, "Belond AP Special", 3:01:09.6, 189 laps.

3. Musso-Hawthorn-Hill, Ferrari Tipo 412 "M/I", "Ferrari", 3:01:00.0, 180 laps.

4. Crawford, Ray, Offenhauser?Kurtis, "Mirror Glaze Special", 3:01:26.4, 178 laps.

5. Reece, Jimmy, Offenhauser/Kurtis, "Hoyt Machine Special", 3:01:50.2, 178 laps.u

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 18:58.

[ZOOOM]

Very interesting John...
Notice that even after a full year of preparation, the whole field couldn't top Big Tony and the Novi.
Tony set the world's closed course record at 177 and change and the fastest the guys could go the following year.... 174...
Guess the Novi was fast and Big Tony was BRAVE!


ZOOOM

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-9) The rest of the USAC Championship season proper saw Johnny Thomson (1922-1960) win four of the eight 100 mile dirt track events in a Kuzma dirt car, while at the paved Milwaukee and Trenton one mile ovals Rodger Ward won one race each using a Lesovsky roadster. The latter car had been constructed in 1957 and originally utilized an 165 cubic inch supercharged Offenhauser but later the mechanic, Herb Porter, replaced it with the more conventional unblown 252 type Offy. But despite all that Thomson or Ward could do, or actually did, the 1958 USAC National Driving Champion proved to be a bit of a surprize.

The 1958 Titlist was Tony Bettenhausen, Sr., the 1951 AAA National Champion, and an old and experienced campaigner. Tony, affectionately nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express", had been one of the giants in the post-World War II (1939-1945) AAA big car racing and had by the end of 1955 a total of 18 1/2 AAA Championship wins notched in his belt. The "1/2" here represents a winning relief role by Tony for big Myron Fohr (1912-1994) at Milwaukee, in a 200 miler held on August 29, 1948.

Bettenhausen had actually run his first Championship event, before the U.S. entered the second World War, at Milwaukee (August 24, 1941) where he placed 6th. One week later, at Syracuse (Sept. 1), Tony finished 2nd only to Rex Mays (1913-1949) who had a much more powered car. In 1951, Tony compiled perhaps the best season ever, up to that time, for a driver in the Championship division by winning 8 of the 15 races contested that season. But 1958 was an opposite type of year as Tony won no events at all, but his consistent high placements gave him the year's title, i.e. a 4th at Indianapolis, three 2nds (Trenton, Milwaukee and DuQuoin), two 3rds (Syracue and Trenton), and three 5ths elsewhere among the years' 13 races.

The final top ten USAC Championship Driver rankings for 1958 were: 1. Tony Bettenhausen 1830 points, 2. George Amick 1640, 3. Johnny Thomson 1520, 4. Jud Larson 1250, 5. Rodger Ward 1160, 6. Jimmy Bryan 1000, 7. Eddie Sachs 990, 8. Johnny Boyd 800, 9. Don Branson 790, and 10. A. J. Foyt 700.

A.J. Foyt's first appearances on the Championship Trial occurred in late 1957 with John R. Wills' Hoover Motor Express team. Foyt's first Championship start took place at Springfield on August 17, 1957, where he started 10th and finished 9th. For the 1958 season, Al Dean hired Foyt as his replacement pilot, for the now departed Jimmy Bryan. Foyt's best placement during 1958 was a 2nd at Langhorne on June 15.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 19:26.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.10) PART II. A. J. WATSON AT ZENITH 1959 TO 1962. 1959 SEASON. (13 RACES).

The season's thirteen winners were:

1. April 4, Daytona 100, Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 170.261 mph, PO NTR.

2. April 19, Trenton 100, Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 91.160 mph D. (Note: Shortened to 87 miles because of rain.)

3. May 30, Indianapolis 500, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 135.857 mph, PO NTR.

4. June 7, Milwaukee 100, Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Lesovsky LR, 98.609 mph, PO.

5. June 14, Langhorne 100, Johnson, Van, Offenhauser/Kurtis D, 99.553 mph, D.

6. Aug. 22, Springfield 100, Sutton, Len, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 95.186 mph D.

7. Aug. 30, Milwaukee 200, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 96.445 mph PO.

8. Sept. 7, DuQuoin 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson D, 93.267 mph D.

9. Sept. 12, Syracuse 100, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 94.122 mph D.

10. Sept. 19, Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100, Offenhauser/Watson D, 91.032 mph D.

11. Sept. 27, Trenton 100, Eddie Sachs, Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 97.398 mph PO.

12. Oct. 18, Phoenix,100, Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 88.458 mph, D.

13. Oc. 25, Sacramento 100, Hurtubise, Jim, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 86.465 mph D.

A.J. Watson, during 1958, was building and selling his cars to other teams, as well as making examples for the John Zink team proper. John Zink, Jr. felt this was against his best interests and the two quarreled over the issue. The upshot was that Watson left the Zink team in September 1958 after four seasons with Zink, i.e. 1955-1958. Watson was promptly hired by a Milwaukee paper products manufacturer Robert C. "Bob" Wilke (d. 1970 at age 62) for the 1959 campaign. Wilke had been sponsoring racing cars since 1936. Although the Zink stable remained a top team until it got out of Championship racing in 1968, it never again quite attained the firepower it had when Watson was with it.

Before the 1959 season opened there were two news items of significance. On February 11, 1959 Marshall Teague was killed in a test run at the newly opened 2 1/2 mile Daytona International Speedway in a specially streamlined Offenhauser/Kurtis roadster. The car skidded on the west banking and flipped five times. The seat tore loose from the chassis and was hurtled, with Teague still in it, 150 feet.

The upcoming 1959 Monza 500 for open wheel vehicles was replaced on February 24, by the Automobile Club of Milan, with a contest for sports cars, and thus the two year run of the "Race for Two Worlds" came to an end. There had been a great deal of intense acrimony between the American and foreign pilots at the 1958 event, and as the race had lost money both years, it was dropped for 1959.

The first of the 1959 USAC Championship events was staged at the just newly constructed Daytona International Speedway, a tri-oval, which featured two steeply banked turns tilted at a 31 degree slant. The new track replaced the old flat sand Daytona Beach course in use since 1936. The inaugural Daytona event was a 500 mile NASCAR car contest won by Lee Arnold Petty (1914-2000), in a 315 horsepower "stock" Oldsmobile on February 22. Petty's average speed of 135.521 mph was just slightly below Sam Hanks' then existing Indianapolis 500 record for the same distance of 135.601 mph, set in 1957. Very high speeds then were expected when the USAC Indy cars took to the track in preparation for the 100 mile Championship event scheduled for April 4, 1959.

The top five Daytona qualifying speeds posted were:

1. Amick, George, Offenhauser/Edderly LR, 176.887 mph.

2. Rathmann, Dick, Offenhauser/Kurtis R, 173.210 mph.

3. Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Kuzma R, 173.010 mph.

4. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 172.018 mph.

5. Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 171.038 mph.

In the race itself Jim Rathmann had little trouble winning, leading circuits 1-6 and 12-40. The only other race leader was Ward, who managed to get in front for laps 7-11. At the finish, Jim had about a 1/2 mile advantage over the 2nd place Ward. Just as Rathmann crossed the start/finish line, George Amick, fighting for the third place money with Bob "Cave Man" Christie (1924-2009), lost control on the backstretch. Amick's new layover Epperly roadster hit the outside guard rail and then flipped end over end. The car then bounded upside down and traveled for 900 feet down the track and stopped on the infield grass. Amick had been killed instantly. Bill Cheesbourg had to deliberately skid and spin off the track to avoid hitting Amick. Jim Rathmann, the winner, had averaged 170.261 mph to make the event the fastest automobile race ever held up to that time.

The fatal crashes of Teague (Feb. 11) and Amick (April 4) in Indianapolis type equipment at Daytona led USAC to ban Indy cars, until much further study, from running at this new speedway. Many felt that the speeds being attained were just too high for safety and the existing cars. In any case, the Daytona 100 of April 4, 1959 has remained the only Championship event ever staged at the Daytona International Speedway.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 19:33.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-11) After Daytona the Champ car trail headed north to Trenton, NJ for another 100 miler to be run on April 19. This race was rain shortened to 87 miles and Tony Bettenhausen won it in an Offenhauser/Kuzma dirt track machine.

A.J. Watson had built two new roadsters for the 1959 season, one of which had been sold to Lindsey Hopkins (1908-1986) for Jim Rathmann's use, and the new cars had finished one-two (J. Rathmann and Ward) at the April 4 Daytona 100. Both machines, with the same drivers, were entered at Indianapolis. In the controversy over the engine mounting, i.e. upright or laid over, Watson had refused to panic and remained convinced that his uprights were still the fastest cars. Uprights had, after all, won the two Monza 500s and only bad luck, perhaps, had kept them from the winner's circle at Indianapolis in both 1957 and 1958. In any case, Watson stuck to his guns and didn't adopt the layover engine configuration.

The only valid and real challenge to the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine supremacy at Indianapolis, 1956 to 1962, were the supercharged 169 cubic inch Novi V8 motors, but even that threat was very remote. They however failed to make the Indy lineup for four consecutive races i.e. 1959 to 1962. Why they didn't in 1959 and 1960 is a strange and rather bizarre story. Bud Winfield had been put in charge of the development of the Novis originally, i.e. 1945 to 1950, but when he had been killed in a California highway accident in late October 1950, Jean Marcenac (d. 1965 at age 69) replaced him, being now put in charge of the two machines by their owner, Lew Welch.

Marcenac, whose trademark was always a beret, was a native Frenchman, who had been sent to Indianapolis in 1920 by the Paris firm of Ballot, to be the riding mechanic for driver Jean Chassagne (1881-1947). After the race, Jean went back to France. But he later returned to the U.S. in August 1920 to help Ralph DePalma (1882-1956) put front wheel brakes on his Ballot, for use in the 251 mile Elgin road race, staged on August 28. Marcenac, however, seems to have never returned home after that. At first Jean stayed on in the U.S. to help DePalma campaign his 3 litre Ballot in America. Soon after that, Marcenac had become one of the premier and well established master mechanics on the AAA Championship circuit during the 1920s and early 1930s. Marcenac was also linked up with Frank Lockhart's (1903-1928) land speed record car in 1927 and 1928. Jean's fame as a wizard mechanic was firmly established when, in a stretch of six years, 1927 to 1932, four different types of cars prepared by him won four "500s", with four different drivers, i.e. George Souders 1927, Ray Keech 1929, Billy Arnold 1930, and Fred Frame 1932!

Marcenac had worked with Bud Winfield on the two Novis and was thoroughly acquainted with the cars, so it was somewhat natural that Lew Welch replaced the deceased Bud Winfield as the head mechanic, with Jean Marcenac. But the two Novis floundered under Marcenac's tutorage (1951-1955) partly, in my opinion, because the old front wheel 1945/1946 chassis were now much too heavy and totally obsolete in their design. But the cars were still capable in 1951, 1952, and 1953, of short bursts of blazing high lap speeds. For example on May 24, 1953, Clarence "Chet" Miller (1902-1953) set new one lap (139.600 mph) and four lap (139.034 mph) qualification records in one of the front drive Novis. It all deceived the general public who now always attributed the Novi's lack of winning a "500" as part and parcel to the so called "Novi Jinx". When however two supercharged Novi V8' engines were installed into new rear drive roadster type Kurtis built chassis in 1956, the cars did have somewhat of a brief renaissance during 1956 to 1958, though their best actual Indy finish be it noted, was 4th in 1957 with Paul Russo.

For 1959, Marcenac installed new Bosch timing systems on the cars and the Novis now entered upon four years of solid ignominy at the Speedway. Owner Lew Welch gave up in disgust after the 1960 debacle and sold the whole Novi enterprise to the three Granatelli brothers in early 1961 with Marcenac still tagging along. The three Granatelli brothers, Andy (b. 1923), Joe (b. 1919), and Vince (b. 1927), had been ex-hot rodders and hop up accessory specialists operating out of Chicago, IL and had had entries at Indianapolis as far back as 1946. One of their cars, a standard Offenhauser/Kurtis 3000, had finished 2nd, with Jim Rathmann up in the 1952 "500".

It was discovered by the Granatellis that Marcenac had never understood how the German Bosch ignition system worked and that the timing on the engines was off a full 30 degrees! In such condition the two cars had been run at Indianapolis in 1959 and 1960, while the old and wizened Marcenac spend days trying to figure out what was wrong.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 19:55.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-12) The 1959 Indianapolis time trials saw Johnny Thomson take the pole, in a new layover Offenhauser/Lesovsky, with a four lap qualification run of 145.908 mph which included a new one lap record of 146.532 mph. Thomson's four lap average did not however, beat Dick Rathmann's record of 145.974 mph, set the previous year in a Watson roadster. After Thomson, the top qualifiers were Eddie Sachs (145.425 mph), Jimmy Daywalt (144.683 mph), Jim Rathmann (144.433 mph), and his older brother Dick (144.248 mph). The final lineup saw a total of 12 layovers in the field and among the pilots driving them were, Tony Bettenhausen, Johnny Boyd, Jimmy Bryan, Duane Carter, Paul Goldsmith, Jud Larson, Johnny Thomson, and Bob Veith. They would all do battle against four Watson uprights, Jim Rathmann and Ward in the 1959 models, and Pat Flaherty and Dick Rathmann in older examples.

The pre-race favorite was Rodger Ward, followed closely by Johnny Thomson and Jim Rathmann. At the start Bryan, in the original 1957 Epperly layover which had won both the 1957 and 1958 "500s", could not disengage the clutch. The car had not functioned right all month. Bryan soon joined the race after it had started, with his car smoking badly. Jimmy was out after a single lap, run in 4 minutes, 49.79 seconds, for an average speed of 31.057 mph! So the first place car of 1957 and 1958 finished dead last in 1959.

The early leaders were Thomson, Ward, Jim Rathmann, and Flaherty. Flaherty, who had not driven here since his 1956 win because of his accident at Springfield on August 18, 1956, had returned to the Championship scene briefly at Milwaukee on August 8, 1958. But here Pat drove just 29 circuits before he was relieved by Chuck Weyant (b. 1923). For 1959 Pat had appeared at both Daytona and Trenton. Now at Indianapolis Flaherty, who started 18th, ran wild and led laps 31, 34-40, and 43-45 but he had over extended himself physically and was beginning to tire. Pat finally lost control on the 163rd circuit coming off the 4th corner. His car spun and crashed head on into the pit entrance wall, but Flaherty was unhurt.

Thomson led laps 1-4 and 49-84 but mid-way through the contest the control linkage connected to the torsion bars broke and an abnormal load was being placed on the right rear wheel. That made for an extra pit stop (i.e. 4 instead of the customary 3) which put him out of contention. The only other drivers to lead the 1959 contest were Jim Rathmann and Ward. Rathmann led circuits 13, 17-30, 32-33, and 41-42, while Ward had rounds 5-12, 14-16, 46-48, and 85-200 to his credit. Ward ultimately beat J. Rathmann to the finish by 23 seconds. The top five finishers for Indianapolis in 1959 were:

1, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:40:49.20, 135.857 mph NTR.

2. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:41:12.47, 135.619 mph.

3. Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Lesovsky LR, 3:41:39.85, 135.340 mph.

4. Bettenhausen, Tony, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:42:36.25, 134.768 mph.

5. Goldsmith, Paul, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:42:55.60, 134.573 mph.

It was not a particularly good day for the layover Offys. They led 40 laps only, to 160 for the Watson upright roadsters. The big technical innovation of 1959 was the use of pneumatic jacks mounted in the car's chassis, operated by air hoses located in the pits, for quicker pit stops. Roll bars on all the cars were now required in 1959, and for the first time.

The race winner, Rodger Ward, had been around. During World War II, he flew P38's and taught flying in the Air Force. In 1946 Ward started racing midgets and by 1951 was at Indianapolis. The 1951 "500" was Rodger's first Championship level start but, thereafter, Ward was a regular in the AAA National Championship ranks, but he wasn't particularly successful at first. Ward's highest AAA National Championship ranking was 11th in 1953, a year in which he won two races, Springfield 100 (June 21) and Detroit 51 (July 4). The race at Detroit was halted early because of its rough track surface. Ward did much better under later USAC auspices winning three events in 1957 and two in 1958. His three previous USAC National Championship point rankings were 8th in 1956, 11th in 1957, and 5th in 1958. At Indianapolis itself, his record in his first eight starts (1951-1958) consisted of also-ran status only. Rodger failed to finish every year except 1956 when he was listed 8th.

Ward's worst experience at the Speedway occurred in 1955 when was driving the ex-Troy Ruttman (1930-1997) 1952 Indianapolis winner, i.e. a Kuzma dirt track machine constructed by Eddie in early 1951. As Ward came off the second turn on his 54th lap the front axle snapped on the right side of the car, triggering a four car accident in which the 1953 and 1954 winner, Bill Vukovich (1918-1955), was killed.

Here's how Ward in 1965 described the incident, "1955 was a difficult year. I had a little dirt track car, and it wasn't a bad car. It was the one that Troy Ruttman had won in. But the front axle had a crack in it. And it had a few surface cracks. We thought we had them welded up. We practiced all May, and I never could get the car to where it felt substantial to me. I almost got out of it two or three times. But you hate to give up on these things. It would go into a corner, the race track was roughin those days and it would get off the ground. And the thing just wouldn't handle...well, in the race the axle broke and caused the accident leading to Vukovich's death." Note: An alternate view of Ward's 1955 crash at Indianapolis is that Rodger just lost the car in the high winds, and that the axle was broken when the car hit the outside concrete wall. Take your pick.

Rodger had already been involved in a bad crash at DuQuoin on September 6, 1954 that had taken the life of ace mechanic, Clay B. Smith, (d. 1954 at age 39). Clay had been the winning mechanic at Indianapolis in 1952 and had worked with Walt Faulkner on the AAA Championship Trail in 1950 and 1951.

Edited by john glenn printz, 22 October 2010 - 13:53.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-13) Ward's winning car owner, Robert "Bob" C. Wilke (an announcement card and envelope manufacturer) had been around racing even longer than Rodger. Wilke had owned midgets during the period 1938 to 1948 and had also sponsored the Marchese brothers entries at Indianapolis in 1940 and 1941. Ill health had forced Wilke entirely out of race car ownership in 1948, but Bob had still kept close to the sport. In 1958 he returned as a car owner and/or sponsor when Jim Rathmann ran an upright Epperly roadster for him at Indianapolis, placing 5th. Later Bob and John Zink co-sponsored Jim's mount for the 1958 Monza 500, i.e. a Watson roadster, and the two partners proved to have the winner. In September of 1958 Wilke lured mechanic A.J. Watson from the Zink team. Wilke agreed to let Watson construct his own chassis for other racing stables, as well as his own. Wilke too didn't particularly care for that arrangement but he figured it was much better to have Watson in his camp than out of it.

Watson and Wilke wanted to hire Jim Rathmann or George Amick as their chauffeur for the upcoming 1959 campaign but neither was available. In the meantime Rodger Ward's car owner for the past two years, Rodger Wolcott (d. 1958 at age 63), had died and Ward was looking for a new ride. Ward was hired by Wilke, as his third choice, and thus became formed the famous "Flying or Three W's" team of Ward, Watson, and Wilke. This trio would stay together for 6 1/2 seasons (1959 to mid-1965) and it became one of the most successful ventures in all of USAC Championship history.

After winning the "500", Ward and the new "Leader Card" team won the second most prestigious event on the 1959 USAC Championship Trail in Wilke's own hometown, i.e. the Milwaukee 200 (August 30). Ed Elisian, the man who had triggered the 1958 Indianapolis first lap pileup, was killed in the race. On lap 27, Ed spun on an oil slick and his roadster hit the wall, then flipped over, and caught on fire. Elisian, 33, was trapped inside and burned to death in front of the main grandstand. It took all of ten minutes to put the blaze out.

Elisian, along with driver Mike Nazaruk (1921-1955) who placed 2nd at Indy in 1951, was probably one of the two most amoral "macho" personalities ever to run U.S. Championship race cars. Of Nazaruk it was said that every second word from his month was always inextricable filth. Elisian himself, when he wasn't racing cars, gave the impression that he was engaged in enjoying every exotica the night could bring. Ed had gambling debts, speeding tickets galore, and wrote endless streams of bad checks. But of Elisian, who considered himself the protege of "Iron Man" Bill Vukovich as a driver, this at least can be said. After Vukovich's car, at Indianapolis in 1955, had flipped end over end and bounded entirely out of the Speedway, Ed alone stopped his car and ran across the track to try and help his friend. This is the only instance, that I know of, of this action ever being taken by any driver at Indianapolis or on the Championship Trail. As his reward for trying to help his idol the AAA officials, because Ed had voluntarily brought his racer to a halt while the race was still on, debarred him from restarting and all further competition in the event.

After the Milwaukee 200, Rodger Ward won two 100 mile dirt track events in a new Watson dirt car, i.e. DuQuoin and the Indianapolis Fairgrounds. Roger's four wins plus two 2nds (Dayton and Trenton) and two 3rds (Syracuse and Phoenix) gave the flying W's the 1959 USAC National Championship Driving Title as well.

The 1959 season was thus another triumph for A.J. Watson. At the year's end Watson, as a mechanic, had accumulated three Indianapolis wins (1955, 1956, & 1959), the last two with cars built by himself, and two U.S. National Championship Titles (1955 & 1959). Everybody now wanted Watson designed roadsters for use on the paved ovals. In the area of car construction and design Watson himself felt that he had an advantage over the other chassis makers in that he not only built the cars, but also worked with his creations all year round as a chief mechanic, and at the actual races themselves. In contrast, most of the other chassis constructors never saw their creations again after they left the shop and, in any case, they didn't continue to work on or with them.

The top ten USAC Championship driver rankings for 1959 were: 1. Rodger Ward 2400 points, 2. Tony Bettenhausen 1430, 3. Johnny Thomson 1400, 4. Jim Rathmann 1154.8, 5. A.J. Foyt 910.2, 6. Eddie Sachs 787, 7. Don Branson 780, 8. Johnny Boyd 760, 9. Len Sutton 520, 10. Paul Goldsmith 500.

Edited by john glenn printz, 25 September 2009 - 20:17.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-14) 1960 SEASON (12 races)

The season's twelve winners were:

1. April 10. Trenton 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson D, 95.486 mph PO.

2. May 30, Indianapolis 500, Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 138.767 mph, PO NTR.

3. June 5, Milwaukee 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 99.465 mph, D NTR.

4. June 19, Langhorne 100, Hurtubise, Jim, Offenhuser/Kuzma, D, 100.786 mph D NTR.

5. Aug. 20, Springfield 100, Packard, Jim, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 90.600 mph.

6. Aug. 28, Milwaukee 200, Sutten, Len, Offenhauser/Watson R, 100.131 mph, PO NTR.

7. Sept. 5, DuQuoin 100, Foyt, A .J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 93.351 mph, D.

8. Sept. 11, Syracuse 100, Grim, Bobby, Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 93.258 mph D.

9. Sept. 17, Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhausen/Meskowski D, 89.286 mph, D.

10. Sept. 25, Trenton 100, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 99.223 mph, PO.

11. Oct. 30, Sacramento 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 84.796 mph, D.

12. Nov. 20, Phoenix 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 89.079 mph D.

Rodger Ward won the first race of the year, the Trenton 100 (April 4) in a Watson dirt machine and then everyone prepared for Indianapolis.

Watson himself constructed four new roadsters for the 1960 season. They went to Jim Rathmann, Lloyd Ruby, Len Sutton, and Rodger Ward, but Watson's cars now were so much in demand that Wayne Ewing built two more examples for drivers Al Hermann and Eddie Sachs, from Watson supplied blueprints. Watson was the acknowledged king of the Indianapolis car builders now and the initial enthusiasm in 1957 to 1959, for the layover Offy roadster configuration was now on the wane. George Salih, who had conceived the original 1957 layover, had Quinn Epperly build him a totally new one for the 1960 "500". It was a logical advancement over the 1957 model, i.e. the 1957 and 1958 Indianapolis winner, being both lighter and smaller. The new car was driven by Jimmy Bryan and while it had no trouble making the "500'" but it qualified only 12th fastest.

The time trials held on the first weekend witnessed Eddie Sachs, now driving for the Dean Van Lines outfit, set new one and four lap qualification records, i.e. 147.251 mph and 146.592 mph respectively. However, Eddie was destined to be compleley upstaged on the 4th and final day of qualifications, by a largely unknown rookie, Jim Hurtubise (1932-1989). Hurtubise completely surprised everyone including himself by upping the lap record to 149.601 mph and the four lap average to 149.056! Jim's machine was a 1959 model Watson, put together for the 1959 "500" by Barney Christiansen and Willie Utzman from Watson supplied plans. The car's owner was Ernest "Ernie" L. Ruiz from Modesto, CA. The other final top qualifiers, behind Hurtubise and Sachs, were Thomson (146.443 mph), Jim Rathmann (146.371) and Ward (145.560 mph). All five of these drivers were using Watson type vehicles except Thomson who had a 1959 Lesovsky layover.

Watson now dominated Indianapolis not only in quality but also in quantity. Exactly one-third of the 1960 field was directly designed or built by him. But nothing could disguise the fact that Indianapolis vehicle design, from a strictly engineering and technological standpoint, was at a total static standstill. All the competing cars used tubular frames, solid axles both front and rear, torsion bar suspension systems, and the 252 cubic inch Meyer-Drake Offenhauser 4. But for compensation, in this regard, it also made for extremely close racing.

The 1960 edition of the "500" was considered one of the best of the Indy classics because of the close competitiveness, which lasted right up to the final laps! The first 250 miles saw 16 lead changes among Ward, Sachs, Ruttmann, Jim Rathmann, and Thomson. Thereafter, things settled down a bit (!), for only Ward and Jim Rathmann led laps in the second half of the contest; but they exchanged the lead, running wheel to wheel, no less than 15 times! As in the 1959 event, the three main contestants, at the half-way point were Ward, Thomson, and J. Rathmann.

Jim Hurtubise, the rookie qualiying king, worked his way up to 5th place by 32 laps, having started 23rd on the grid, but engine oiling problems slowed him down and the car gave out after 185 laps. Jimmy Bryan, in the new Epperly-Salih layover, did even worse. Bryan never got any higher than 6th, and retired after 152 trips, around and inside all the Indy grandstands, with a broken fuel pump.

During the last few laps of the contest both Ward's and Ratmann's tires began to show their breaker strips, i.e. this was a built in safety device in the tires themselves, put there to warn the drivers that their tires were worn down and that they would need to pit soon for new rubber. Ward, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, back off on the 197th lap and Rathmann passed him by recording a lap timed at 146.128 mph, the fastest circuit ever turned during an actual running of the "500". The final top five finishing positions were:

1. Rathmann, Jim, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:36:11.36, 138.767 mph NTR.

2. Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:36:24.03, 138.631 mph.

3. Goldsmith, Paul, Offenhaser/Epperly LR, 3:39:18.58, 136.792 mph.

4. Branson, Don, Offenhauser/Phillips R, 3:39:19.28, 136.785 mph.

5. Thomson, Johnny, Offenhauser/Lesovsky LR, 3:39:22.65, 136.750 mph.

Odd fate may possibly have given Rathmann the edge and hence the victory over Ward, in their wheel to wheel struggle here. Ward had won the previous year's "500", while Rathmann had no Indianapolis wins in 10 previous tries but rather, had collected three 2nd place finishes, i.e. in 1952, 1957, and 1959. So Jim might well have been just a little more hungry than Roger. But even more important perhaps, from a psychological point of view, was the fact that it was Ward's right front tire which had gone bad, where he couldn't avoid seeing and watching it, whereas in Rathmann's case, it was the right rear tire, located where Jim didn't have to look at it.

Jim Rathmann's 1960 Indianapolis win was the high point of his illustrious career. He had now established himself as certainly the best oval pavement pilot of his day, i.e. 1957 to 1960, with impressive wins posted at the 1957 Milwaukee 200 (Aug. 25), 1958 the Monza 500 (June 29), and the 1959 Daytona 100 (April 4). Jim had started racing in 1946 at the Carrell Speedway in Los Angeles, CA in souped up jalopies and he first entered the AAA Championship division in 1949 at Indianapolis, where he was flagged off, finishing 11th, after completing 175 laps. Thereafter Rathmann completed in every "500" except 1951, when he was under suspension by the AAA for running outlaw races. During Jim's AAA days, i.e. 1949 to 1955, his best year was 1952 when he finished 2nd at Indianapolis, 4th at the Raleigh 200 (July 4), and 6th overall in the season's AAA point rankings at the end of the year.

Edited by john glenn printz, 30 November 2011 - 18:47.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-15) After the 1960 Indianapolis 500, Rodger Ward won at Milwaukee (June 5) and the first half of the year seemed to be going extremely well for him, with two more wins at Trenton (April 10) and Milwaukee (June 5), all coupled with his 2nd place at Indianapolis. A second consecutive USAC National Title seemed to be in the offing.

The 1954, 1956, 1957, U.S. National Driving Champion, Jimmy Bryan, after winning at Indianapolis in 1958 had been very inactive and in a state of semi-retirement. In June of 1960 Bryan decided to return to the USAC Championship Trail as a whole, beginning with the Langhorne 100 dirt classic scheduled for June 19. The Langhorne Speedway was the most dangerous track on the then existing Champ car circuit and Rodger Ward, the acknowledged and reigning American Champion, would not even run there. Even more disturbing perhaps was that Bryan's formerly neat, trim, lean and muscular body, during his two year layoff had turned to fat. Jimmy looked bloated. Bryan was determined however, to prove at Langhorne that he had lost none of his prowess or skill, and that he was still the king of the Championship flat one mile dirt ovals, just as he had formerly been during 1954 to 1957. Bryan was the second fastest qualifier at 110.321 mph behind only Don Branson (1920-1966) at 113.061 mph. The Langhorne test would be Jimmy's first Championship chase on dirt, since the Phoenix 100 of November 11, 1957, which he won.

At the start, Branson took the lead and Bryan tried to overtake him in the first turn, in an area nicknamed Puke Hollow. But Bryan went too high and then tried to cut back sharply to the left. Bryan's car began flipping wildly and rolled over several times. The accident happened about 12 seconds after the start. Jimmy was still alive when pulled from the car but was pronounced dead on arrival at the Lower Bucks County Hospital. Bryan had been driving, ironically, the very Leader Card, Watson built dirt car vacated on this occasion by Rodger Ward.

So ended the career of one of the best and most beloved U.S. racing drivers of all time. It was a sad ending no doubt but Jimmy had joined much good company and many talented pilots like David Bruce-Brown, Dario Resta, Jimmy Murphy, Frank Lockhart, Bob Carey, Billy Winn, Ted Horn, Rex Mays, Bill Vukovich, Bob Sweikert, etc., all of whom had also died with their boots on. Automobile racing has always had its apocalyptic aspects but everyone who had the privilege of seeing the boyish, cigar chewing Bryan in his prime (1954-1957), will never forget the playful, fun loving, and fearless driver. The Langhorne 100 was stopped and on the restart the 1960 Indy qualification sensation, Jim Hurtubise, won the race with a record time of 59:31.82 or 100.73 mph.

As the second half of the 1960 season progressed Rodger Ward found himself being threatened, more and more, for first place in the National Championship point standings by one Anthony Joseph "A. J." Foyt, hailing from Houston, Texas. Foyt had moved into the USAC Champ car division at age 22, in August 1957 at Springfield and had competed in 5 Championship races that year with his best placement being a 7th at Phoenix (Nov. 11). In 1958 A.J. was the replacement for Bryan (who had quit Al Dean to drive George Sahil's Epperly layover) on the Dean Van Lines team. In his rookie year at Indy in 1958, Foyt spun out on lap 148, to finish 16th. Foyt ran in 11 other USAC Championship contest in 1958 and was the 10th ranked driver for that year. Foyt's three best finishes had been a 2nd at Langhorne (June 15), a 3rd at Sacramento (Oct. 30), and a 4th at Phoenix (Nov. 11).

Again in 1959 Foyt raced for the Dean Van Lines stable. At Indianapolis he placed 10th and was 5th in the season's USAC National Championship point rankings. As in 1957 and 1958 Foyt did not record any Championship victories during the year but took a 2nd at Phoenix (Oct. 18), and had two 3rds, at Milwaukee (June 7) and the Indianapolis Fairgrounds (Sept. 9). For the up coming 1960 campaign Foyt quit owner Al Dean and moved to the Bowes Seal Fast team being wrenched by George Bignotti (b. 1916). Foyt was 3rd at Trenton (April 10), the season's opener, but at Indianapolis he failed to finish, out at 90 laps with clutch failed, and was placed 25th. Thus A.J was no instant success on the USAC Championship Trail but he had been steadily improving and now after 2 1/2 years of busy apprenticeship (mid-1957-1959) he, as his subsequent career would show, had now moved up to greatness.

Foyt gained his first Championship win at DuQuoin (Sept. 5), won again at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds (Sept. 17), and then went into the 1960 point lead, over Rodger Ward, for the first time with yet another victory posted at Sacramento (Oct. 30). Ward, after having taken 1st twice and a 2nd once in the year's first three events, had had now a disastrous second half season. Ward was to appear in the top ten placements only once (a 2nd at Trenton Sept. 25) in the next eight contests and he was to see his chances at a second consecutive U.S. Championship Driving Title severely slump.

The situation going into the final event of the year, the Phoenix 100 of November 11, was that Ward had to place in the top three and Foyt had to finish lower than 11th for Ward to repeat as the National Champion. Foyt however went on to his fourth win of the year, while Ward failed to finish. And so Foyt had won the first of his seven USAC National Championships, and he had done it the hard way, with no points obtained from Indianapolis. But in the dozen 1960 Championship events Foyt had posted four wins, two 2nds (Milwaukee June 5 and August 28), two 3rds (Syracuse Sept. 11 and Trenton Sept. 24), and one 4th (Trenton April 10), and it put him on top.

The very attentive reader will perhaps have noticed a new make added to the winning chassis constructors in 1960, i.e. Meskowski. Wally Meskowsky (1915-1980) had been the head mechanic of Ernie Ruiz' Travelon Trailer team for four seasons, 1953 to 1956. For 1957 Wally went to John R. Wills' Hoover Motor Express outfit. In 1958 Meskowsky constructed his first USAC Champ car, a dirt track machine. In 1960 Wally built two roadsters for Indianapolis but their careers was not distinguished. At Indy in 1960 they placed only 8th and 16th. Meskowski's forte however proved to be with his USAC Championship dirt cars. Wally's dirt machines used torsion bar suspenion systems and almost immediately showed their superiority over the other makes. Foyt in 1960, with a brand new example, gained 800 Championship points alone, by his four victories in it.

We cannot leave 1960 completely without mention that Johnny Thomson, 39, was killed at Allentown, PA in a sprint car feature on September 24, 1960. The soft spoken Thomson was the winner of seven Championship events and was the only driver still able to offer a threat to Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward in the second halfs of the 1959 and 1960 "500s". Johnny's first Championship event was the 1953 Indianapolis classic but his mount, a Frankie Del Roy (1912-1978) dirt machine, lasted only six laps and was listed 32nd in the final standings. But in the 1955 "500" Thomson took a solid 4th in a Kuzma dirt car. Thomson's first Championship victory occurred at Milwaukee less than a week later (June 5). Thomson's highest National Championship ranking was 3rd, a distinction he achieved on three occasions, i.e. 1955, 1958, and 1959.

The top ten USAC driver rankings for 1960 were: 1. A. J. Foyt 1680 points, 2. Rodger Ward 1390, 3. Don Branson 1220, 4. Jim Rathmann 1000, 5. Tony Bettenhausen 940, 6. Gene Force 830, 7. Johnny Thomson 800, 8. Len Sutton 780, 9. Lloyd Ruby 710, 10. Paul Goldsmith and Jim Packard (i.e. tied) 700.

Edited by john glenn printz, 27 September 2009 - 17:25.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-16) 1961 SEASON (12 races)

The season's twelve race winners were:

1. April 9 Trenton 100, Eddie Sachs, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 98.679 mph, PO.

2, May 30 Indianapolis 500, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Watson-Trevis R, 139.130 mph, PO NTR.

3. June 4 Milwaukee 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 103.860 mph, PO NTR.

4. June 18 Langhorne 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 99.601 mph, D.

5. Aug. 20 Milwaukee 200, Ruby, Lloyd, Offenhauser/Watson R, 101.638 mph, PO NTR.

6. Aug. 21 Springfield 100, Hurtubise, Jim, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, Not taken, D. (Race halted at 99 miles because of scoring error.)

7. Sept. 4 DuQuoin 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 92.755 mph, D.

8. Sept. 9 Syracuse 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson D, 95.090 mph, D NTR.

9. Sept 16 Indianapolis Fairgrounds, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 92.369 mph, D NTR.

10. Sept. 24 Trenton 100, Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 101.013 mph PO NTR.

11. Oct. 29 Sacramento 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson D, 88.779 mph D.

12. Nov. 19 Phoenix 100, Jones, Parnelli, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, Not taken, D. (Race halted at 89 miles because the track surface broke up.)

Eddie Sachs won the first event of the 1961 season, the Trenton 100 (April 9), for his seventh and last career win. It was the only race scheduled before Indianapolis.

There were big doings at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1961 because that year marked the 50th Golden Anniversary of the the highly successful 500 mile format inaugurated in 1911. There were a total of 69 entries for this, the 45th Memorial Day race. It was actually only the 44th "Indy 500" as the 1916 race was a 300 miler. No races had been held during the World War years of 1917-1918 and 1942-1945.

A. J. Watson built two new cars using coil springs, both front and rear instead of the more usual torsion bars, for drivers Johnny Boyd and Rodger Ward. Warson's new suspension still utilized however, the familiar solid transverse axles. The Speedway, badly wanting a foreign entrant for its Golden Anniversary, waived the existing rules slightly to enable the then two time World Grand Prix Champion (1959 and 1960) Jack Brabham (b. 1926) of Australia to take part in a modified 168 cubic inch, 252 horsepower, rear engined Formula I Cooper-Climax from England. The wheelbase on Brabham's Cooper-Climax was four inches short of the USAC required minimum of 96 inches. Brabham and his Climax powered Cooper got a great deal of attention in the press and speculation was rife as to how this rear engined machine would fare against all the front engined U.S. roadsters. The Brabham-Cooper entry was sponsored by SCCA's James "Gentleman Jim" Kimberly (1907-1994), a wealthy heir of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, a large paper products manufacturer.

In practice, Tony Bettenhausen on May 10, in a 1960 model Epperly layover, was clocked at 149.2 mph in traffic and everyone expected that Tony would try for the Speedway's first offical 150 mph lap during the qualifications. It was not to be. The veteran Paul Russo, a very close friend of Bettenhausen (i.e. the two had paired for 2nd place here in 1955) was having problems getting up to speed and Tony agreed to take Paul's present ride out to see if he could shed any light on Russo's trouble. It was the same exact Watson built roadster with which Ward had won the 1959 "500". After a few laps at speed a small bolt became dislodged in the front tie rod as Bettenhausen head down the front straightaway which left Tony without any steering. The two front wheels became askew and the car bounded into the outside concrete barrier, became airborne, and began wildedly flipping. The machine, now positioned above the concrete wall, tore out 250 feet of wire fence, lopped off eight steel support posts and then landed upside down with its fuel tanks leaking. A fire started but Tony Bettenhausen, the winner of 21 1/2 Championship races and two U.S. National Driving Titles (1951 and 1958) was beyond help and was already dead.

Tony's accident happened about noon, the day before the qualifications were to begin. The voluble Eddie Sachs, upon being asked if Bettenhauser.s death would slow the drivers down replied, "Hell no, I'm going for the pole!", and Eddie was as good as his word. The top five first day (May 13) qualifiers were Sachs at 147.481 mph, Branson 146843 mph, Hurtubise 146.306 mpg, Ward 146.187 mph, and Parnell Rufus "Parnelli" Jones (b. 1933) 146.080 mph. Jones wasa highly touted rookie, up from the jalopy, midget, and sprint car ranks and had been brought to the Speedway by the veteran car owner and promotor Christopher "Aggie" or "J. C." Agajanian (1913-1984), who had had cars in the "500"entered continuously since 1948. Jones' first Championship start occurred at the June 5, 1960 Milwaukee 100 and Parnelli competed in seven other 1960 Championship contests with his best placement being a 2nd at Sacramento (Oct. 29). But despite his all Parnelli had only the 18th ranking in the final 1960 USAC Championship driver statistics.

A record number of 22 cars qualified on the first day including Jack Brabham in his Cooper-Climax at 145.144 mph with the 17th fastest first day clocking. Brabham's was the first totally foreign entry in a "500" since Alberto Ascari (1918-1955) ran a 1951 4 1/2 litre type Grand Prix Ferrari in the 1952 race. Ultimately Jack's time of 145.144 proved to be only the 21st fastest among the 33 qualifiers. On the second weekend of the time trials rookie Lloyd Ruby (1926-2009), driving the Epperly layover with which Tony Bettenhausen had hit 149.2 on May 10, made the field with 146.909 mph.

Before the race, so wide open as it was, that it was very difficult to predict the outcome. Among those most often named as the possibe winner was Foyt, Hurtubise, J. Rathmann, Ruttman, Sachs, and Ward. After the 50th anniversary pre-race festivities, which included Ray Harroun (1879-1968), Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973), Earl Cooper (1886-1965) taking their vintage 1910-11 Marmon, 1914 Duesenberg, and 1915 Stutz racing cars around the track, the race got underway. It was one of the best.

Edited by john glenn printz, 01 October 2009 - 15:45.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-17) Jim Hurtubise took the lead at the start, in the yellow No. 99 Demler Special, a 1958 model Epperly layover, and very quickly moved to almost a half a lap advantage over the entire rest of the field! "Herk" or "Hercules" would come around with no other car even within sight! Jim led the first 35 circuits and pitted for 32 seconds which dropped him completely out of the top ten.

Hurtubise's stop gave the front position to the 1960 winner, Jim Rathmann, whio led the next six circuits (laps 36-41) before he pitted for three tires and fuel. The next 100 laps (42-141) saw Foyt, Jones, Ruttman, and Sachs all leading at times, amid 11 lead changes. Three of the early race leaders were gradually forced out. Jim Rathmann was eliminated after 48 laps (magneto failure), Hurtubise at 102 laps (broken piston), and Ruttman at 105 (clutch failure). For once an Indianapolis rookie proved equal to his pre-race buildup and hype, as the 27 year old Parnelli Jones, led circuits 42-44 and 52-75. While in the lead, Jones was stuck by a metal part, just above his right eye. The eye started to bleed profusely and Jones' goggles were continually filling up with blood but Parnelli doggedly managed to keep moving. But not long after getting clobbered by the metal object, Jones' car started running on just three cylinders and Parnelli, without the needed horsepower began to fall quickly, further and further back in the race's standings.

At 150 laps the race was between just Foyt and Sachs with Ward in third. Ward did lead briefly (circuits 161-167), mainly because both Sachs and Foyt chose to make their third and last routine stops before Ward, but Ward was actually out of contention. The coil springs in Watson's new front suspenion arrangement had lost their tension, which was now causing the car to bob up and down in the turns. Ward, however, stayed with his mishandling machine but was now getting further and further behind the still fast fleeing vehicles of Foyt and Sachs.

Before the race it was an inside Indy dogma, seemingly proven in the previous decade's racing here, that any car which required more than three pit stops during the event could not win. Sach's third stop (lap 158) and Foyt's (lap 161) were to be their last or so everyone thought. At 180 circuits Foyt had asserted his superiority over Sachs and was leading him by about five seconds. But it was soon learned that Foyt's fueling rig had malfunctioned, the car hadn't gotten a full suppy of fuel on its third stop, and that A. J. would have to pit again if he wished to complete the full 500 mile distance. When Foyt pulled in (lap 184) he gave the lead back to Sachs and with it seemingly also, the victory. But the show wasn't quite over yet.

Edward "Eddie" Julius Sachs Jr. (1927-1964), the "Clown Prince of Auto Racing", was a hard man to figure out. Although there existed no doubt at all that he could drive or that he deeply loved the sport Eddie, during his entire career, seemed to be a frequent victim of over enthusiasm and brain fade. The 1961 Indianapolis race was a classic example of this. Foyt's fourth stop had given Eddie about a 30 second lead. All Sachs had to do now, with just 16 laps remaining, was to slow down a bit and coast into victory. But instead of pacing himself, Eddie continued to run flat out. On the 197th circuit the breaker strip flew off Eddie's right rear tire but, as all savvy and experienced pilots and observers knew, about five more circuits could probably be safely coaxed out of it before the situation became truly critical. Instead of continuing on, as almost everyone else would have, Sachs with the 500 win within his grasp suddenly and without any warning to his crew, appeared heading down pit lane on the 197th lap!

To this day no one has been able to figure out what was in Eddie Sach's mind. With just three more circuits remaining Eddie could have easily slackened his pace by eight seconds a lap and still have beaten Foyt to the wire. Sachs' fourth stop took 17 seconds not counting the precious time lost coming in and out, and meanwhile Foyt had moved back into the lead. It was perhaps poetic justice as Foyt, had he not had the refueling problem on his third stop, most probably would have won anyway. As it was Sachs had to be content with the runner up spot just 8.28 seconds behind A. J. With the exception of the 1937 "500", in which Wilbur Shaw (1902-1954) had won by a scant 2.16 seconds over Ralph Hepburn (1896-1948), it was the closest finish in the Speedway's 500 mile race history. Sachs had now joined Ralph DePalma as the only other driver to lead lap 197 and not gone on to win. Poor Eddie!

The top five finishers for the 1961 Indianapolis 500 were:

1. Foyt, A.J., Offenhauser/Watson-Trevis R, 3:35:37.49, 139.130 mph NTR.

2. Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Watson-Ewing R, 3:35:45.77, 139.041 mph.

3. Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:36:32.68, 138.539 mph.

4. Templeman, Shorty, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:39.10.84, 136.873 mph.

5. Keller, Al, Offenhauser/Phillips R, 3:40:31.94, 136.034 mph.

Although Ward, Templeman, and Keller had made only three pit stops each to Foyt's and Sachs' four, they still trailed the top two finishers by a wide margin; thus disproving the old adage that more that three stops can't make a winner. Lloyd Ruby, in the originally assigned Epperly layover for Bettenhausen, Sr., was never a contender nor was Jack Brabham in the tiny 1050 pound Cooper-Climax lightweight. Ruby never got higher than 8th where he finished. Brabham had been hampered by slow pit work, bad strategy, and a decided lack of brute horsepower to end up listed 9th. But notwithstanding all that, the motorsports writers wrote more about Jack and his green painted Cooper than about the winner, A.J. Foyt. The early rookie race leader, Parnelli Jones, had faded all the way to 12th, and was dead last among the cars still running at the end.

Some fans later discussed a rumour that Eddie had long before promised his wife that if he ever won the "500", he would retire from all automobile racing. Some of them claimed that, in effect, Eddie had thrown the 1961 "500" so he wouldn't have to face that earlier vow. Foyt was later asked if he would have stopped, as Eddie had done, "No. I would have gone for it!" In sum, the 1961 edition of Indianaplois had certainly been a great and exciting race.

Edited by john glenn printz, 05 October 2009 - 17:04.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-18) The rest of the 1961 season was a struggle mostly beteeen the three driver-mechanic combinations of Foyt-Bignotti, Sachs-Brawner, and Ward-Watson for the National Championship Title honors. These three combinations won 9 of the year's 12 races. Both Brawner and Watson had been well established Championship racing mechanics in the pre-1956, AAA era, and had continued on with great success under USAC. Under the old AAA banner Brawner had 13 wins (one each with Bobby Ball, 1925-1954, and Sweikert; and 11 with Bryan), to Watson's two (both with Sweikert). While under the new aegis of USAC, at the end of 1961, Brawner had 7 more (6 with Bryan and 1 with Sachs), and Watson 12 (6 with Ward, 4 with with Larson, and 2 with Flaherty).

George Bignotti, compared to Brawner and Watson, was a bit of a newcomer. George first gained fame as a mechanic in northern California after World War II in the midgets ranks. Bignotti first came to Indianapolis in 1954 when driver Freddie Agabashian (1913-1989), who was having car problems, suggested to his crew that George to sent for, to help find and sort out their troubles. The period 1954 to 1959 were George's apprenticeship on the Championship Trail. For 1960 he and Foyt were thrown together when Foyt quit the Brawner-Dean Van Lines outfit after two seasons (1958 and 1959) and joined instead the Bowes Seal Fast team. Bignotti had but one victory in the Championship division (the Phoenix 100 of Nov. 11, 1958 with Larson), before A.J. Foyt came into his spectrum. In a very real sense both Foyt and Bignotti became nationally famous simultaneously, as they were to share 27 USAC Championship wins together amidst frequent quarrels and disruptions for Foyt, and maybe Bignotti too, was hard to get along with. The two giants finally split for good in mid-1965.

In 1961 Foyt won four races, Ward three, while Sachs was victorious in two. These same three drivers, who had placed one-two-three at Indianapolis, also finished in the top three positions in the 1961 USAC National Champioship point rankings and in exactly the same order, i.e. Foyt, Sachs, and Ward. Parnelli Jones achieved his first Champ car win at the last race of 1961, i.e. the Phoenix 100 (Nov. 9), which had to be halted at 89 miles because of darkness. Al Keller (1920-1961) was killed in it on his 41st lap when his car hit a rut, flipped over six times, and slammed into a wire fence. At some point Al's helmet had come off.

Al Keller had been racing since 1938 and had moved into the AAA Championship division in 1954. Al had no Championship wins but registered two 2nd place finishes, i.e. the 1956 Atlanta 100 (June 24) and the 1961 Milwaukee 100 (June 4). In six Indianapolis starts his best finish was 5th in 1961. Keller was involved in the fatal Vukovich accident at Indianapolis in 1955. After losing control, Al's car bounded back onto the track at a 90 degree angle and hit the moving machine of Johnny Boyd. Boyd's car was pushed into the path of Bill Vukovich, who then hit Boyd, with the result that Vukovich's car started flipping end over end.

The final top ten USAC drivers rankings for 1961 were: 1. A. J. Foyt 2150 points, 2. Eddie Sachs 1760, 3. Rodger Ward 1680, 4. Shorty Templeman 1190, 5. Al Keller 1000, 6. Jim Hurtubise 939, 7. Len Sutton 860, 8. Bobby Marshman 769, 9. Dick Rathmann and Parnelli Jones (tied) 750.

Edited by john glenn printz, 29 September 2009 - 18:42.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-19) THE 1962 SEASON (13 races)

The season's thirteen winners were:

1. April 8 Trenton 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 101.101 mph, PO NTR.

2.May 30 Indianapolis 500, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 140.293 mph, PO NTR.

3. June 10 Milwaukee 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Watson-Trevis R, 100.700 mph, PO.

4. July 1 Langhorne 100, Foyt, A. J., Offenhauser/Meskowski D, 93.186 mph D.

5. July 22 Trenton 150, Ward Rodger, Offenhause/Watson R, 100.976 mph, PO. (race halted at 142 miles because of rain)

6. Aug. 18 Springfield 100, Hurtubise, Jim, Offenhausen/Kuzma D, 92.625 mph, D.

7. Aug. 19 Milwaukee 200, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 100.017 mph PO.

8. Aug. 26 Langhorne 100, Branson, Don, Offenhauser/Watson D, 104.799 mph D NTR.

9. Sept. 8 Syracuse 100, Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson D, 95.571 mph NTR.

10. Sept. 15 Indianapolis Fairgrounds 100, Jones, Parnelli, Offenhauser/Lesovsky D, 90.604 mph, D.

11. Sept. 23 Trenton 200, Branson, Don, Offenhauser/Watson D, 102.529 mph, PO NTR .

12. Oct. 28 Sacramento 100,Foyt, A. J., Offenhausen/Meskowski D, 97.220 mph, D.

13. Nov. 18 Phoenix 100, Marshmann, Bobby, Offenhauser/Kuzma D, 92.124 mph D. (race halted at 51 miles because of an accident involving 15 spectators)

After the running of the Trenton 100 of April 8 (won by Foyt in a Meskowski dirt car), the sole Championship contest scheduled before Indianapolis, everyone got very serious again and prepared for the "500". There were a total of 65 entries but very few new cars. Watson, as the top car builder, had three new machines ready for drivers Rodger McCluskey (1930-1993), Shorty Templeman, and Rodger Ward. Watson's 1961 experience with coil springs had been a costly error and so somewhat naturally he reverted back to the tried and true torsion bar suspension system he had always used in the past. Innovations and new novelties on race cars almost always lead directly to race losses and that only thoroughly race tested, and hence drab, designes usually win. is a proven dictum of automobile racing. Anyway, for those who liked the the off-beat, the John Zink team had entered a rear engined vehicle powered by a Boeing gas turbine type 502 (375 horsepower at 39,000 rpm) using newcomer Dan Gurney (b. 1931), and hot rodder Mickey Thompson (1928-1988) had arrived at the track with three rear engine Buick V8 powered cars designed by John Crosthwaite of England. They were placed in the hands of rookies Jack Fairman (1913-2002) and Chuck Daigh (1923-2008). Crosthwaite had previously worked for the Cooper Car Company (formed 1947-48 at Surbiton, Surrey) and Lotus Cars (formed 1952 at Hornsey, North London) as a suspension engineer and expert. Fairman had raced in both the 1957 and 1958 Monza 500s. Mickey Thompson was now convinced that he could make quite a name for himself by taking up the rear engined Indianapolis car gauntlet where Jack Brabham had let it drop. James "Jim" Kimberly, the sponsor of Jack Brabham in 1961, was also involved with Thomson's new venture.

The Novis were at the Speedway in 1961 and 1962, now owned by the Granatelli brothers, but they didn't manage to qualify either year. The three brothers had purchased the cars in April 1961 from Lew Welch and didn't have much time to put things in order the first year. They had even come to the Speedway without a driver. They later thought they had lined up Dick Rathmann, the fastest qualifier in 1958, but he proved to be already under contract to Jim Robbins, a Detroit area industrialist, and Robbins wouldn't release Dick from his signed agreement. In 1962 Bill Cheesbourg and Chuck Stevenson were hired to drive the Novis which now sported new 1962 model Frank Kurtis rear drive chassis. Unfortunately the new chassis didn't quite work out and finally both cars were left waiting in line to qualify, when the gun went off signaling the end of the 1962 trials.

The Speedway for 1962 had undergone one major change which would increase the speeds. During the 1920s the brick surface of the track had already become very bumpy and as the years continued to roll by they didn't improve any. The bricks became rougher and rougher, tougher and tougher. The four turns and the two connecting short chutes had to be given a coating of Kentucky rock asphalt in 1937 for safety reasons, to smooth out the irregular surface in those areas. Further asphalting in 1938, 1939, and 1956 had left only the front straight still retaining the originial brick surface. But in preparation for the 1962 "500" the main straighaway was now also fully asphalted and completely covered except for a one yard symbolic strip located at the start/finish line.

Those who expected higher speeds because of the resurfacing job were not destined to be disappointed. Parnelli Jones, in a 1960 model Watson roadster, became the first pilot ever to traverse the 2 1/2 mile oval at and above 150 mph officially, thus breaking Hurbubise's 1960 mark of 149.601 mph, when Parnelli won the 1962 pole on May 18 with a four lap average of 150.370 mph. Parnelli's fastest circuit was chocked at 150.729 mph. Jones was followed in speed by Ward (149.371 mph), Marshman (149.347), Sutton (149.328) and Foyt (149.074). All except Marshman, in a 1959 Lesovsky layover, were using upright Watson roadsters. Rookie Dan Gurney, who had at first been assigned to the John Zink turbine, went over to the Mickey Thompson's three Buick/Crosthwaite vehicles when the Zink turbine venture didn't pan out. Gurney only, ultimately proved able to put one of the Thompson Buicks into the starting lineup with a good speed average of 147.759 mph. Eddie Sachs, though certainly a top driver, knew absolutely nothing about how automobiles functioned mechanically, not even how an internal combustion engine worked (!!!), and had to enlist A. J. Foyt to set up his Wayne Ewing (Watson type) roadster. Sachs eventually made the starting lineup on the second weekend of the qualifying trials with a speed of 146.431 mph to start 27th.

Edited by john glenn printz, 15 October 2009 - 13:26.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-20) The race itself can be shorty described. Parnelli Jones, off the pole, led the first 59 laps, until his first pit stop, and then circuits 65 to 125. Thereafter Jones faded in the standings because his car had lost all its brake fluid due to a ruptured line. Jones had to drive the entire second half of the event totally without brakes. Late in the contest (lap 170) Rodger McClusky spun directly in front of Parnelli, just off the second turn, and Jones who couldn't slow down, missed hitting Rodger by a mere three inches. McCluskey's spin, occurring when he was running 2nd in the event, was caused by a ruptured radiator hose which sprayed both rear tires with hot water.

A. J. Foyt, the 1961 winner, was a main contender leading laps 60-61 until, on a mixed up pit stop (lap 69), a crewman failed to tighten a wheel nut. The left wheel came off the car as Foyt entered the south chute while exiting the pits retiring the vehicle (lap 70). With both of his chief and faster rivals, Foyt and Jones, either out or in trouble Rodger Ward now had an easy time of it leading laps 126-160 and 170-200 for his second triumph here. The final top five finishers were:

1. Ward, Rodger, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:33:50.33, 140.293 mph NTR.

2. Sutton, Len, Offenhauser/Watson R, 3:34:01.85, 140.167 mph.

3. Sachs, Eddie, Offenhauser/Watson-Ewing R, 3:34:10.26, 140.075 mph.

4. Davis, Don, Offenhauser/Lesovsky LR, 3:34:38.46, 139.768 mph.

5. Marshman, Bobby, Offenhauser/Epperly LR, 3:36:09.27, 138.790 mph.

Mickey Thompson had had a lot of engine problems with his souped up Buick V8s in practice and it was thought by most experts, including Thomson himself, that Gurney, in the only non-Offenhauser in the race, would not complete the 500 mile distance because of impending motor problems. But when Gurney did retire, after the 93rd lap, it was because of rear end failure, not motor trouble. Thomson, who was interviewed on the P.A. system just after his car went out, seemed ecstatic over the fact that an engine problem had not put the car out. Gurney, it should mentioned, was not running in the top 10 at the time of his retirement, although he had been as high as 8th at 30 laps.

Len Sutton, who had placed 2nd, was Ward's teammate on the Leader Card squad and 1962 marked the first occasion that a single team had finished one-two here since ex-driver Lou Moore (1904-1956) had turned this trick in both 1947 and 1948, with his two front drive "Blue Crown Specials" using pilots Mauri Rose (1906-1981) and Bill Holland (1907-1984). As one man remarked immediately after the 1962 "500" was over, "When Bob Wilke comes to Indianapolis he comes to race!" Eddie Sachs, who started 27th, drove a masterful race to finish 3rd.

The three Indianapolis events of 1960, 1961, and 1962 were among the closest in history, for the winning margins were just 12, 8, and 11 seconds respectively. Nor was this in any way "artificial", as there was no "bunch up" rule for the caution periods back then. Since all the major contestants had virtually the same chassis (Watson upright roadsters) and the same engine (Meyer-Drake Offenhauser 252s), it made for very close finishes. This would no longer be the case in 1963 and subsequently. It should be pointed out that Eddie Sachs, in both 1961 and 1962, had run faster races on the track itself, than the actual winners Foyt and Ward, but had lost out because of overlong pit stops.

Edited by john glenn printz, 07 October 2009 - 15:03.

[john glenn printz]

USAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 1956-1962 (cont.-21) The remaining portion of the 1962 season after Indianapolis was mostly a vain attempt, as it turned out, by A. J. Foyt to retain his 1960 and 1961 USAC National Driving Title for yet another year. The veteran, Rodger Ward, the U. S. National Champion in 1959, was certainly the leading candidate for the 1962 Championship honours after he had won at Indianapolis. Foyt meanwhile, had the decided disadvantage of having obtained no Championship points from the "500". Ward, who had been the top U.S. driver until young upstart A. J. Foyt had challenged him successfully in 1960 and 1961, was to get a good lick in against Foyt in 1962.

Foyt and Bignotti split in August of 1962, amid frequent quarrels over this and that, and A. J. then joined Lindsay Hopkins' (1908-1986) team with Jack Beckley (1918-2006) as the mechanic. Hopkins had had cars running on the Championship Trial since 1950 when he had purchased a dirt track machine from Lou Moore. That year, with Henry Banks as the driver, the combination had won the 1950 AAA National Championship Title. Although the Foyt-Hopkins alliance lasted for six sucessive Championship contests the Foyt-Hopkins-Beckley association didn't quite click (no wins, two 2nds, no 3rds, and two 4ths) and by October 1962 Foyt switched teams again and went back to Bignotti, now sponsored by William B. "Bill" Ansted and Shirley D. Murphy, i.e. "Sheraton-Thompson" instead of Bowes Seal Fast.

Foyt's various machinations, three different sponsors and two team changes, did not gain him the 1962 USAC National Title. For instance at the important Milwaukee 200 (August 19) Foyt stalked the race leader, Rodger Ward, for more than 100 miles in the Hopkins owned Epperly layover, but couldn't get by the sly, wilely, and silver haired Ward, riding in a Watson roadster. And it wasn't for lack of trying. Two laps from the end (circuit 199) Foyt made a supreme try to pass Rodger in the 3rd turn but couldn't quite get the job done and A. J. had to settle for 2nd place, less than one second behind the victorious Ward. But when Foyt returned to Bignotti the old combination clicked immediately with a win at the Sacramento 100 (Oct. 28).

Ward thus became the 1962 USAC National Champion although he couldn't compete in the season's last two Championship car meets because of a broken back sustained in a bad crash (mechanical brake failure) during a qualifying session for a sports car race at Riverside, CA on October 12. But Rodger certainly had good reason to be happy, nonetheless. He had after all, won the two biggest USAC Championship events of the year (Indianapolis 500 and the Milwaukee 200) and had now garnered his second U.S. Title over the likes of such fast flying personages as Branson, Foyt, Hurtubise, Jones, and Sachs. Ward found himself officially on top of the heap once again and A. J. Watson, as a mechanic, collected his fourth Indianapolis win and his third U.S. National Title. At the conclusion of the 1962 season Ward had a total of 20 Championship wins to Foyt's 12.

The final top ten USAC Championship driver standings for 1962 were: 1. Rodger Ward 2460 points, 2. A. J. Foyt 1950, 3. Parnelli Jones 1760, 4. Don Branson 1700, 5. Bobby Marshman 1581, 6. Jim Hurtubise 1340, 7. Len Sutton 1250, 8. Jim McElreath 1210, 9. Eddie Sachs 1060, and 10. Don Davis 960.

The years 1959 to 1962 were the halcyon days for Ward-Watson-Wilke combine on the USAC Championship circuit, but this era would not last. A new trio, the Ford Motor Company (formed 1903), Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (1928-1982) and Dan Gurney, all very recent interlopers to USAC in 1962 and 1963, would soon put forward a potent threat to A. J. Watson's thriving roadster business, the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser dominance, and rudely shake up the whole USAC Championship establishment. The impending revolution would need only three years (1963, 1964, and 1965), to completely rout and totally vanquish the ancien regime. THE END.

P.S. BIG JOKE: I always thought that Shirley Murphy was a woman until he introduced himself to me, quite out of the blue, in the pits at Indianapolis in 1978. I was quite surprized! That year, 1978, he was helping Janet Guthrie (b. 1938) with some sponsorship money.

Shall we continue?

Edited by john glenn printz, 11 October 2010 - 20:25.

[ovfi]

Shall we continue?

Of course, can't wait you to write about '63 and '64 seasons (the last victory of the front-engined cars), although it is not on the thread's title.
I don't have replies because I'm enjoying the reading so much, I have no questions, everything is answered in your text.

Edited by ovfi, 29 September 2009 - 22:09.

[ZOOOM]

In '61, Parnelli has said that the car was just outstanding. He was lapping the back markers in four laps and the second place cars in twenty. The team had clamped the brake line to the frame with some plastic. The plastic stretched and allowed the line to come in contact with the exhaust that punctured the brake line.
Now, Parnelli figured he was making $150 per lap leading the race, why not lead as long as possible.
When he finally came in he had to get off the gas in one to have any hope of slowing down in the pits. Parnelli thought he was through. He was ready to quit and step out. When he got to the pits they refueled the car and changed the tires and waived him out again! The team actually embarassed him into going back out...
And thus the legend was burnished!

ZOOOM

[john glenn printz]

JUST A NOTE. I have added six paragraphs on Pat Flaherty to the September 9, 2009 post "cont.-2" posting above. This was a side affect, I would guess, of the death of Jim Rathmann on November 23, 2011.

Both Flaherty and Jim Rathmann began their racing careers in hot-rods under the California Roadster Association in 1946. And they both moved to Chicago in 1948 to race hot-rods under the Granatelli brother's Hurricane Racing Association. Flaherty's and Rathmann's first year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as rookies was in 1949, while members of the Granatelli brother's effort.

Another similarity, besides both being Indy "500" winners, was that the two were basically U.S. Championship "pavement" pilots and didn't like to race on dirt.

Edited by john glenn printz, 05 January 2012 - 14:19.

[hlfuzzball]

Jim Rathmann and Pat Flaherty in front of a young promoter named Andy Granatelli (Back to camera).

1950 Chicago, Il.