Reading for Racers

[Greg Myers]

Came across this online, lots of faces , cars, pictures and books : http://www.coastal181.com/weekday_photos-C.htm

[Ace-Garageguy]

Much good stuff there, including some most excellent vintage babeage.

[Art Anderson]

A fascinating shot of the 1952 Cummins Diesel Special! That's one of the largest cars ever to run at Indianapolis--it weighed in at just under 4000lbs (an AAA Championship Car back then generally tipped the scales at around 1500lbs, with the NOVI front drive cars at perhaps 2100lbs). Driver Freddie Agabashian, in practice, never really cut a hot lap, pretty much testing the car out one turn at a time, so nobody really knew what the car could do for a full lap.

This film (poor quality on Youtube) courtesy of Cummins Engine Company) shows the car, with Agabashian up, qualifying at over 138mph to take the pole at Indy in 1952: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOBslrnXzF4

Note the considerable smoke coming off the tires in Turn One on each lap! Agabashian literally shredded the Firestone tire treads. In the race however, after running away from the field early on, the Cummins Spl dropped out, due to a clogged turbocharger. Builder Frank Kurtis mounted the turbo down low, in the nose of the car, where it was subjected to track debris (back then, racing tires ground off their rubber as powder, which would literally "cake" on the nose of a race car, sometimes clogging up radiators as well as building up on drivers' shirts, helmets and goggles) in order to give the car a smooth, clean, streamlined appearance.

Here's a pic of the car itself, in the pits during practice at Indianapolis in '52: http://ims.cdn.racersites.com/prod/photos/342417/FULL.jpg

But, it wasn't the first Cummins Diesel to run at Indianapolis: That honor goes to the 1931 Cummins Special, which was an early 4-cylinder Cummins diesel truck engine, mounted in a Duesenberg Model A passenger car frame, with a Duesenberg Model J radiator and hood panels. Driver Dave Evans achieved something nobody else has ever done in an Indianapolis 500-mile race--run the entire 500 miles NON STOP!.

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Duesenberg/31-Cummins_Diesel_DV-08_AI_01.jpg

Both cars still exist--and were run on the track in pre-race festivities, together, on May 30, 1969. It was quite the sight--two race cars, running down the frontstretch and into Turn One, each trailing black diesel exhaust from their tailpipes.

Art

[bbowser]

Great post, thanks for sharing that!