Indy Ford

[Lizard Racing]

I just finished re-reading the book Black Noon-The Year They Stopped the Indy 500.  This is an excellent account of the 1964 Indy 500, a black day for auto racing.  I heartily recommend it.

As I was walking the dog today, I began to think:  How would the Indy 500 have been different if Ford had not thrown its weight against it?

The rear-engine revolution would still have happened, just not as quickly. 

Lotus certainly would not have come without Ford support. 

That would have left American builders to make rear-engine versions of Offy roadsters, which they did in the beginning.

Some stock block engines might have been further developed to replace the Offy.  Offy might have developed their own V-8 (which they did later).

Of course, this is mere speculation on my part.  Anyone else have any ideas?

Here's wishing everyone a happy holiday season and good fortune in building for 2017.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Mickey Thompson, mid-engined Buick-powered car, 1962.

https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/10/15/a-piece-of-dan-gurney-mickey-thompson-and-indy-500-history-shows-up-at-hershey/

Edited December 25, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Art Anderson]

Living as I do, growing up in Lafayette IN just an hour NW of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and being an Indy 500 fanatic since boyhood--it was inevitable that the rear engine revolution was going to happen, Lotus or no. If one reads the several books written on the subject (and I have every one written) it was Ford Motor Company who sparked that "revolution".after seeing Jack Brabham's run at the 1961 Indy 500  (I was there that day!).  Couple that with Dan Gurney's run with the rear-engined Buick stock block in 1962, the move to rear engined cars was inevitable--I saw him qualify for the race, but had to miss the 500 that year due to my HS class' graduation picnic on Race Day. I missed the debut of Lotus at Indy in 1963 as I was driving home from Iowa with the first Model A Ford I acquired when in college--missed the 1964 race as well for very similar circumstances--but in 1965, I got to see Jim Clark qualify in the Lotus 38--his helmet was so low in the cockpit it seemed as though that car had no driver@

 

[Art Anderson]

1964 was indeed a black year at Indy!  I was in the infield, at the exit of Turn 4 that day (a friend of mine had his camera out--his pics of that gawd-awful crash went viral when Life Magazin published them!.  That was the most sickening day I ever witnessed at Indianapolis!