13 replies to this topic

[Joe Fan]

Yes, I was watching a show on Speedvision about the 1965 Indy 500. Apparently, a NASCAR pit crew served as Jim Clark's pit crew and played an integral role in his 1965 Indy 500 win due to their speed and efficiency compared to the other top teams pit crews. I know that the Wood Brothers were one of the first teams to practice and take pitwork seriously and that they were hired to pit some Indy team in the 500 because of their noted speed. Can anyone clarify that this pit crew was the Wood Brothers?

[Megatron]

Yes, it was the Woods. They pitted the car, although they never changed tires they did refuel. Clark was very impressed and it even made headlines in Europe.

I think they were sent by Ford as Ford wanted a Lotus-Ford victory at Indy.

[William Dale Jr]

What sort of a system were they using? Dry-break?

[Gerr]

The Wood brothers were only one part of the Team Lotus pit stop story in '65. USAC had new rules for champcars that year, pressure refueling and gasoline were outlawed, fuel bowsers were now 400 gallons(US)maximum with only one 3 inch outlet combining two 3 inch hose off-takes. Len Terry designed a double sided refuelling rig that increased the fuel flow. This quote of Terry's is from Fergusons "Team Lotus:The Indianapolis Years".
"When the gravity feed regulations became known,it was obviously a matter of vital importance to increase the replenishment flow during during pit stops to gain an advantage,and it became clear that later that no one else within the other teams had considered a solution too deeply. I based my design on a venturi shape for the 3-inch-diameter outlet that fed into a "Y" from which two 3-inch lines individually fed fuel to each side of the car. My calculations promised a delivery of 50 US gallons in under 20 seconds,and if no one else thought of a similar scheme we would gain an enormous advantage. Fortunately,no one else did...."
Also,Chapman had hired NASCAR's Bobby Johns to drive the second entry. Johns recommended the Wood brothers as the refuelling crew and they were flown in a few days before the race. During his first stint in the race,Johns ran his car dry so that Lotus could get a stable comsumption figure to estimate the requirement for Clark's second stop. Johns finished seventh.

[Joe Fan]

I just got done watching a different Speedvision program on the 1965 Indy 500 and the narrator stated that the best pit stop that Colin Chapman's English crew could do was 33 seconds. Parnelli Jones's first pit stop took 45 seconds. The Wood Brothers pitted Jim Clark in his first pit stop in 18 seconds.

[Ray Bell]

Were not the Wood Brothers responsible for Gurney's stops in some races, notably the Riverside 500?
Gurney's connection with Lotus at the 500 is not to be ignored, I don't think.

[Joe Fan]

Ray, that is highly possible. I will have to check around. BTW, I sent you a Private Message.

[Accipiter]

Dan Gurney won 5 NASCAR races at Rivereside from '63-'66 and again '68. The first with Holman-Moody, and the next 4 with the Wood Brothers team. Gurney said after the '66 race "The Woods really make a science of the pit work. Sometimes I don't know how they do it, they're so smooth. I'd sure like to have these guys with me at Indianapolis."

Did you guys know that Jimmy Clark drove a Ford in a NASCAR race at Rockingham N.C. in October, 1967 for Holman-Moodey? Jochen Rindt was on hand too listed as his relief driver. Clark started 24th and worked his way up to 12th before engine failure sidelined him. He said the only problem that he has was "I couldn't find the bloody brake pedal when I went into the turns."

All the quotes above come from Fourty Years of Stock Car Racing - Volume III by Greg Fielden.

[Mike Argetsinger]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Accipiter
[B]

Did you guys know that Jimmy Clark drove a Ford in a NASCAR race at Rockingham N.C. in October, 1967 for Holman-Moodey? Jochen Rindt was on hand too listed as his relief driver. Clark started 24th and worked his way up to 12th before engine failure sidelined him. He said the only problem that he has was "I couldn't find the bloody brake pedal when I went into the turns."





Yes, I may have posted something on this race somewhere on TNF but I'm not sure. I was at this race and had dinner with Jimmy and Jochen and Ludovico Scarfioti the night before. All three drove in practice and were there with the intent to race but - as I remember it - Scarfiotti and Rindt's cars were just not top cars and in the end only Clark raced. (You are correct - Holman&Moody supplied the cars). His progress through the field was just as you describe it. He made a lot of friends that day. NASCAR -including the drivers - treated the European contingent very warmly and the respect was mutual by my observation.

[Gerr]

Ran across an interview about the Wood Brothers at Indy here:
http://stratos.motorsport.com/

[Jim Thurman]

Joe, why would you question this?...I realize it might seem hard to believe, but there was some interchange back in those pre-clogged schedule days. Ford really wanted the win and hired the Wood Brothers.

On Ludovico Scarfiotti at the NASCAR race, his car was the Tommy Friedkin owned Plymouth. Friedkin was a corporate wunderkind having built Pacific Southwest Airlines into a regional success.

IIRC, the race Scarfiotti, Clark and Rindt were at was the 1966 Rockingham, North Carolina fall race (American 500?).


Jim Thurman

[Milan Fistonic]

I have seen a photo somewhere of the Lotus team at Indianapolis and one of the crew was Allan Moffat who went on to become one of Australia's better known touring car drivers.

[Jim Thurman]

Correcting myself (finally after all these months ), it was October 1967 when Jim Clark drove in the NASCAR GN race at Rockingham, North Carolina.

Thanks Mike for pointing that out

And to me for failing to notice it mentioned in your earlier post (sorry about that).

And I can confirm that Scarfiotti practiced a Friedkin Enterprises Plymouth. It was in fact the team's back-up car, which had seen some races with Marvin Panch driving in 1966 (which is probably what made me think of 1966 in a roundabout way).


Jim Thurman

[SirVanhan]

Are there any pictures of Scarfiotti with Playmouth?