MICKEY THOMPSON 1962 INDY CAR

In 1961, Jack Brabham brought an underpowered rear engine Cooper-Climax to Indy and finished ninth. The next year Mickey Thompson would bring three cars with rear mounted stock block Buick V-8s. The principal car, number 35, failed to make the race but car number 34 driven by Dan Gurney, did. After qualifying, the car's colors were changed from white with a dark blue nose to "The Mickey Thompson Harvey Aluminum Special"  blue with white front style of the 35 car.

MASERATI 4CLT/48

With the development of a tubular chassis the Maserati 4CL became the 4CLT. The first of the 4CLTs variations added the 48 when Alberto Ascari drove the car to victory in its maiden race at the 1948 Sanremo Grand Prix. The car was powered by a twin-supercharged 91 cu. in. in-line 4 cylinder engine that produced 260 bhp.

1911 MARMON WASP

Carl Fisher had the vision to build a two and one half mile speedway six miles northwest of Indianapolis in 1909. The track's first surface of crushed rock and tar proved unsuitable for racing so it was resurfaced with 3,200,000 bricks, each of which weighed nine pounds, eight ounces. On May 30, 1911, the first Indianapolis 500 mile racing contest was held. This Marmon Wasp, driven by Ray Harroun, won that first "500" in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds at an average speed of 74.602 mph.

At the time it was customary for racing cars to carry a riding mechanic who would watch the cars in back and tell the driver of an impending pass. Harroun designed his Marmon with no provision for a riding mechanic; instead he bolted a 3" x 8" mirror between some rods and made the first rear-view mirror ever used on an automobile.

The Marmon Motor Car Company failed in 1933, Harroun died in 1968, but the Wasp, named for its yellow and black paint job, survives at the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum located at the track.

JIM CLARK'S 1965 INDY WINNING LOTUS FORD

When Scotsman Jim Clark finished second in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 he was driving one of two small rear engine cars entered that used a Lotus chassis and an American Ford V-8 engine. When he won the race two years later 27 of the 33 cars entered had their engine in the rear. The era of the roadster that began with Ray Harroun's Marmon Wasp in 1911 was over.

JIM CLARK'S TYPE 29 FORD POWERED INDY CAR

In 1961, Jack Brabham brought an underpowered rear engine Cooper-Climax to Indy and finished ninth. The next year Mickey Thompson made an attempt with another rear engine car, this one powered by a Buick V-8. But it would be 1963 and car number 92, a type 29 Lotus with a Ford engine that would revolutionize Indy car design. Conceived by Colin Chapman, powered by a stock block Ford V-8 and driven by one of the greatest drivers of all time, Jim Clark, the car finished second but left little doubt that the days of the roadster were soon to end.

GULF TEAM #1075 FORD GT-40

 

The GT-40 got its name from the fact that it measured 40 inches in height. When Ford left endurance racing after the 1967 season they asked John Wyer to continue building and racing the GT40s. What would become the most famous of all the GT40s, Gulf team car number 1075, was a favorite of Jacky Ickx and mechanic Ermanno Cuoghi. Its first win during the 1968 season was at Brands Hatch. At Le Mans it finished seven laps ahead of the second place car. The aging racer was again campaigned in the 1969 season and despite a win at Sebring, was considered to have little hope for a repeat victory when entered at Le Mans. The veteran car however proved otherwise by narrowly beating a Porsche 908 in one of the most exciting Le Mans finishes ever.

MASERATI TIPO 61 "BIRDCAGE"

 

The Maserati Tipo 60 and 61 got the nickname of "Birdcage" from their space-frame muti-tubular chassis which was composed of 200 small aluminum sections. The Tipo 60 was powered by a 2.0 Liter 4-cylinder 200 S engine. The Tipo 61 used a 2.9 Litre 250 S unit. In 1960 and 1961 Gus Audrey and Roger Penske drove Birdcages to SCCA Class Championships. The single most remembered win however came to Camoradi Team Chassis #2461 driven by Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney to victory in the 1960 Nurburgring 1000Km.