Post-War ‘Hot Rods’ at Indy

Thank you for indulging me with another look at Indy cars and drivers of influence. This time we’ll look at my favorite open wheel racers from after the war. You’ll notice how many beautiful and unique cars were built year after year from 1947 through the late 50s, much like early hot rods and customs of this same time period. You’ll also make note that 1964 was the last year of ‘traditional’ Indy race cars.

1947-49: Mauri Rose and Bill Holland in Deidt/Offy racers. The Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials were gorgeous cars were crafted by metal-shaping master Emil Deidt (or was it Diedt?) who also formed the Rochester Roadster, Timbs Special, and the Ford Vega. Check out the elegant track nose and the extensive louvering.

1950: Johnnie Parsons in a Kurtis/Offy. I picked this racer because I love everything about it from the horizontal bar grille mounted on the front of the streamline slab body, to the filled chrome hairpins. The pale yellow paint with red wire wheel car had substance, presence, and style.

1951: Lee Wallard in another Kurtis/ Offy. Another nicely proportioned racer that looks a bit like a large scale midget rather than a full-on sprint car, the Belanger Special was originally built for the dirt. This is the first Indy winner with solid disc wheels.

1952: Troy Ruttman in a Kuzma/Offy car. Troy was only 22 when he won Indy (still the youngest racer ever to do so).  The Agajanian Special #98 had a beautiful track nose and a fantastic red flame job over cream paint. It was one of the earliest racers to use disc brakes converted from military aircraft. When the race leader Bill Vukovich, who was driving a new Kurtis “roadster”, ended up against the wall with 9 laps to go with a broken steering linkage, nobody could have known that the 1952 race would be the last Indy victory for an “upright” dirt car.

1957 & 1958: Sam Hanks and Jimmy Bryan in the Salih/Offy car. This is another one of those cars that stands out by it’s stance and proportions. I dig the ‘sectioned’ body with a center wing in the rear on the Belond Exhaust Special. The huge gold magnesium wheels and black exhaust just add to the cool factor.

1964: A.J. Foyt in the Watson/Offy car. The end of a great era, this was the last win by a front engined car. It was also the year that Dave MacDonald died in a fiery crash of the ill-handling #83 Sears-Allstate Special, a mid-engined prototype racer designed by Mickey Thompson.