bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING 04/19/2001
Tony and that first trip
Pole-sitter
Greg Ray during an earlier attempt to qualify for the 84th "Indianapolis
500" on May 20, 2000
Bob Jennings
It was a dark, overcast day on May 20, 2000 as qualifications began for the 84th "Indianapolis 500." The weather could almost be called typical for a "500" pole day considering how often it's been like that at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After spending most of the previous week at the Speedway watching practice, I was tired. I struggled to get out of bed and go to the track. It was one of those times where you're sort of burnt out if you know what I mean. Last May
Even with the clouds and gray skies I had good luck taking photos from my favorite spot in the penthouse section of grandstand E, at the apex of the first turn. The photo of Greg Ray on this page was taken Pole day 2000. I have photos of Al Unser Jr., Juan Montoya and Jason Leffler featured on this website which were taken that day from the same location. The photos on "500" Pole day from high in the grandstand E penthouse are my favorites from last May at the Speedway.
The first day of qualifications for the "Indianapolis 500" remains my second favorite day of the year next to the day of the "Indianapolis 500" of course. That means that I have to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway regardless of the weather forecast, my physical condition or the current competitive state of the guy I'm rooting for. I missed Pole day at the Speedway twice since I began going to the "500" in 1956. I missed 1957 because my parents were having a party on Pole day and couldn't take me to the Speedway. I also missed in 1996 because I was caught up in the Indy car split and was afraid to leave Chicago until the day before the "500."
I became hooked on racing while listening to the radio broadcast of the 1955 "Indianapolis 500." I nearly killed myself in July 1955, shortly after my ninth birthday. I was racing my English racer style bicycle down a steep hill near my home. The bicycle hit a "chuck hole" and I went down, smashing my nose to pieces and nearly bleeding to death. A five-hour surgery and a week's stay in the old St. Vincent Hospital at Capital Avenue and Fall Creek Boulevard followed.
While I was in the hospital my parents brought me a copy of Floyd Clymer's 1954 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Official Yearbook. I read that book from cover to cover at least 100 times during my stay. At St. Vincent I picked a favorite driver. He was Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen of Tinley Park, Illinois. I liked the name and the wide grin displayed in Bettenhausen's photos in the Clymer book. Tony Bettenhausen was my original racing guy, a hero in every sense of the word to a nine- year old kid from the Nora community on the north side of Indianapolis.
I saw my first auto race in person in August 1955. My parents took me to the old 16th Street Speedway to see an AAA National Championship midget event, which was won by Jack Turner. Tony Bettenhausen wasn't racing that night so I cheered for Andy Linden, another "Indianapolis 500" veteran. After the 100-lap midget feature finished my parents took me to the pits. I got autographs from both Linden and the race-winner Turner.
Over Labor Day weekend 1955, immediately before I
began fourth grade at Nora School my family went to the Pendleton Pike Drive-In
Theater to see the Kirk Douglas movie "The Racers." The film
was about European racing, mostly Grand Prix Formula One. I loved watching the
Douglas character fastening his helmet before getting into his racing car. I
loved the way dirt and grime collected on Douglas' face, around his eyes that
were covered by goggles. I loved the physical way racing appeared to twist a
man inside out while he was driving at high speed. I loved all of it!
Early in 1956, my Cub Scout troop went on a field trip to the Allison Detroit Diesel factory, which is about a half-mile from the front entrance of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On the way we passed the Speedway. My mom, who was the Den Mother of our troop, told my fellow scouts I was going to the "500" in May. I already knew I was going but hearing mom tell the world meant it was going to happen for sure.
The weeks seemed to drag on while I waited for May and the 1956 "Indianapolis 500." In early spring my family went to Anna Maria Island, Florida to visit my grandparents. While we were in Florida, I purchased the latest issue of Speed Age magazine. Inside was a preview of the 1956 "500." The article by Bob Russo (or Russ Catlin) reported that Tony Bettenhausen would race the Belanger Motors number 99 Kurtis Kraft roadster driven by Art Cross in the 1955 "500."
Bettenhausen had a history with car owner Murrell Belanger, an auto dealer from Crown Point, Indiana. Tony drove for Belanger at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1947 and 1949. Bettenhausen passed on the famous navy blue Belanger number 99 for the 1951 "Indianapolis 500" because he thought the car was too small. Lee Wallard assumed the Belanger ride, led 159 laps and took a decisive win in the "500." Wallard was injured seriously in a race a few days after winning at Indianapolis. Bettenhausen got into car 99 and won ten days after the "500" at Milwaukee. Tony followed with Indy car wins at Langhorne, Springfield, DuQuoin (twice), Syracuse, Denver and San Jose to win the 1951 AAA National Championship (Indy car) title.
Bettenhausen's car for 1956 was a standard 1954
model Kurtis Kraft KK500C roadster powered by a 255 cid Offy four cylinder
engine. The Offies were being built and sold by three-time "500"
winner Louis Meyer and his partner Dale Drake during that time. The Offy
engine carried the badge Meyer Drake. The Belanger number 99 stood out from all
the other KK500C entries. The car was painted in the usual Belanger navy blue
with gold leaf numbers and trim. There was a flourish of gold at the front of
the nose section that set everything off perfectly. It was a beautiful
racing car! That's probably why the background for most of the pages on Bob
Jennings' World O' Racing is navy blue. The color became my favorite when I
saw Tony Bettenhausen race the Belanger Motors Special number 99 in 1956.
Another racing car I can recall that carried a similar color scheme to the
Belanger car was the navy blue and gold Wolf - Ford that Jody Scheckter drove
to three Formula One wins in 1977. Jody's Wolf was another beauty.
In the early 1970's I embarked on a huge project. I wanted to document every aspect of racing from the beginning of the sport, in a historical perspective. I used to spend hour after hour on weekends at the downtown Indianapolis library going through microfiche of old editions of The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News and the local Scripps Howard daily The Indianapolis Times. I eventually gave up on the project in 1978 because it seemed immense and I was too busy learning to be a computer programmer at Polysystems in Chicago. That was a long time before the Internet and the creative opportunities it presents.
When I was going through the old editions of The
Star, The News and The Times one of the things that struck me
was the flair, which old time sports writers used to write their stories.
Perhaps the reason why I enjoy Robin
Miller's writing so much is because he reminds me of the writers of
that era. That was a time when writers and broadcasters had to use words
to create images because visual media wasn't always available and often not
very good. The old time writers used phrases like "gasoline derby"
to describe the "Indianapolis 500." They might call a racing
driver a "speed merchant" or a "chauffer." Sports
personalities like Babe Ruth were often given nicknames. Babe was "the
Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat." Boston Red Sox
star Ted Williams was "the Splendid Splinter." Boxer Jack
Dempsey was known as "the Manassas Mauler." Joe DiMaggio was "the
Yankee Clipper." The local writers gave racing drivers nicknames too. Bill Vukovich was "the Mad
Russian." Tony Bettenhausen was "the Tinley Park Express."
Tony Bettenhausen was a blond haired guy with a "flat top" crew cut, about 5 feet 8 in height. He had a raspy voice. Now I recognize it as a Chicago accent because Tinley Park, Illinois is located in the far south Chicago suburbs. In 1956 however I had no idea where Tinley Park, Illinois was. When he wasn't in a racing car Bettenhausen usually had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. If you saw the film "To Please a Lady," the Clark Gable character often had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth much like Tony Bettenhausen. Bettenhausen's oldest son Gary, although a redhead like mom Valerie, reminds me a lot of his dad in stature and appearance, especially when the ever present cigarette is hanging from the side of his mouth.
Tony Bettenhausen was born in September 1916. He came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1946 when racing resumed after World War II. Bettenhausen qualified the Bristow-McManus Special number 42 at 123.090 mph for twenty-sixth position on the starting grid. Like most of the cars in the 1946 "500," Tony was running a pre-war chassis (Wetteroth) with an old Miller engine. There were only nine cars running at the end of the race because there was so much mechanical attrition. Bettenhausen finished in twentieth place even though he only completed 47 laps before a connecting rod broke.
Bettenhausen won the Indy car season finale on
the dirt at Goshen. Is that Goshen, Indiana? There were only six races
on the 1946 AAA National Championship schedule. Tony finished eighth in the
season standings, which was a pretty decent showing by a "rookie."
The next May Bettenhausen began his association with Murrell Belanger. He qualified Belanger's number 29 Stevens - Offy in twenty-fifth position for the 1947 "Indianapolis 500" with a speed of 120.980. On race day a timing gear broke after 79 laps and Tony finished in eighteenth place. After Indianapolis however Bettenhausen found the right setup for the car on dirt. He won for the second year in a row at Goshen and again on the dirt mile at Springfield, Illinois. Bettenhausen was sixth in points at the conclusion of the AAA championship "big car" season, which consisted of eleven events.
Bettenhausen returned to Indianapolis in 1948 with the same Belanger Stevens - Offy, this time carrying number 6. Tony qualified in twenty-second position with a speed of 126.390. In the "500" he completed 167 laps before a clutch failed, which placed him fourteenth in the official finish. Myron Fohr took over Bettenhausen's car at Milwaukee and won the race, later in the 1948 season. Tony finished out of the top ten in the final season point standings.
I don't know why Tony Bettenhausen missed the 1949 "Indianapolis 500." I don't know if he failed to qualify or didn't have a ride. After Indianapolis however Tony was back to his winning ways, taking victories on the dirt at DuQuoin and Detroit. This particular trend began to characterize his career. Bettenhausen was among the best on the dirt mile ovals that comprised the rest of the AAA "Championship Trail." At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway however, he wasn't having much success.
Bettenhausen hooked up with Lou Moore's Blue
Crown Spark Plug team for the 1950 "Indianapolis 500." That was a
good deal. Moore's famous silver blue metallic Blue Crown cars were coming off
three consecutive wins in the "500." Even Roger Penske wasn't able
to win three consecutive races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tony was
signed to replace Mauri Rose who won the 1947 and 1948 races for Moore. Rose
was driving one of the former Blue Crown cars that had been purchased by
California oilman Howard Keck. I
wonder if it was one of those deals where Keck would only buy the car if Mauri
Rose came with it. Calling Donald Davidson. Donald, give me the scoop on why
Mauri Rose left Lou Moore for Howard Keck in 1950.
Bettenhausen qualified faster than his Blue Crown teammate Bill Holland, the winner of the 1949 "Indianapolis 500." Tony qualified the number 14 Blue Crown car in eighth on the grid with a speed of 130.940 mph. Holland's number 3 Blue Crown car qualified tenth at 130.480 mph. Unfortunately the 1950 "500" was a different story. Bettenhausen went out after 30 laps with wheel bearing problems to finish in thirty-first position. Holland was running second to leader Johnnie Parsons on lap 138 when rains hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to end the 1950 race.
It was the usual story after Indianapolis for Tony Bettenhausen. He won the next race ten days later at Milwaukee. Tony won again during the 1950 season at Springfield and Bay Meadows. Bettenhausen was fifth in points at the conclusion of the 13-race season.
In the years since Tony Bettenhausen's fatal
crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1961, I've pondered the 1951
"Indianapolis 500" and the potential what if. What if Bettenhausen
had accepted Murrell Belanger's offer for Indianapolis? Would he have won the
"500" in the dominant way Lee Wallard did? What if?
Bettenhausen drove the Mobiloil/Rotary Engineering entry number 5 at Indianapolis in 1951. I assume it was associated with the Blue Crown team in one way or another, although I don't know if Tony's car was an official Lou Moore entry. I believe Moore was phasing out his participation in racing by 1951 but I don't know the exact details. Damn I wish Donald Davidson would get in touch! Bettenhausen qualified ninth at 131.950 mph. He also finished ninth after spinning out in turn four and completing 178 laps.
Despite his 1951 Indy car title driving the number 99 Belanger car, Bettenhausen gave up the new Belanger number 1 entry, built by Lujie Lesovsky, in favor of another front drive Blue Crown car built by Morris Deidt. Perhaps it was the same car he drove in the 1951"500." Bettenhausen only qualified thirtieth and went out of the "500" after 93 laps to finish in twenty-fourth place. The rest of Tony's 1952 season didn't go so well either. He was winless in the "big cars" and finished out of the top ten in the National Championship standings.
For 1953, Bettenhausen took over the J.C. Agajanian number 98 Kuzma - Offy that carried Troy Ruttman to victory in the 1952 "Indianapolis 500." Tony made his best "Indianapolis 500" qualifying effort to date with a run at 136.020 mph for sixth on the grid. In the "500" he completed 196 laps before crashing in turn three to finish ninth. After Indianapolis Bettenhausen returned to his winning ways. Tony took victories at Syracuse and Phoenix and was tenth in point standings for the 1953 season.
So think about it. By the start of the 1954 season Tony Bettenhausen had accumulated 19 big car (Indy car) victories. But his best finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was ninth. He hadn't even come close to leading the "500" yet. 1954 was in the middle of the reign of Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis. Vukovich dominated the "Indianapolis 500" from 1952 through 1955 like no driver before or since. But Vuky preferred to go home to Fresno, California after Indianapolis to be with his family and run his auto repair business leaving the races on the mile dirt ovals to the other guys. That opened up a lot of races for drivers like Jimmy Bryan, Tony Bettenhausen, Sam Hanks and Chuck Stevenson to win.
The roadster configuration where the drive shaft ran along the side of the driver rather than underneath was introduced at Indianapolis in 1952 with startling results. Vukovich led 150 laps in Howard Keck's Fuel Injection Special Kurtis Kraft 500A before crashing on lap 191. While Vukovich came back to win the "Indianapolis 500" in 1953 (195 leading laps) and 1954 (90 leading laps) with the same car, Frank Kurtis continued to refine and improve his Kurtis Kraft roadsters. By 1954, the third iteration of the Kurtis Kraft series of front engine roadster racing cars (the KK500C) made its debut at the Speedway.
Tony Bettenhausen had one of eight new Kurtis Kraft 500C roadster models that started the 1954 "Indianapolis 500." Bettenhausen qualified the cream colored Mel Wiggers car at 138.270 mph for twenty-first spot on the starting grid. I used to have a color postcard with a photo of Tony in the Wiggers car. It featured a gold number 10 with a large Mobil "flying red horse" as a background. The new car suffered bearing problems to drop out of the race after 105 laps and finish in position 29. As I recall, Bettenhausen did little racing other than the "500" in 1954. I believe he had interests both in a Chrysler dealership and a John Deere tractor distributorship in Tinley Park at the time.
Bettenhausen was back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1955. Tony came with the same Kurtis Kraft 500C he raced in 1954 and it still carried number 10. The car had been purchased by H.A. Chapman and was painted turquoise with red-orange trim. I believe Bettenhausen's chief mechanic (what they used to call crew chiefs) on the Chapman car was Tiny Worley. Worley wasn't tiny. He was a large, heavy mass of a man, bald with a baby face. I don't know much about Worley except he must've been one of Bettenhausen's buddies because he seemed to work on a lot of Tony's cars during the years I was paying attention.
There's a famous story about Pole day for the 1955 "Indianapolis 500," one of those memories that rate a chapter in the history books. The weather was bad that day. There were high winds and most of the top drivers decided they didn't want to qualify in those conditions. The big names apparently forgot to tell Jerry Hoyt. Hoyt was a sprint car star from Oklahoma (I believe) who was attempting to make his fourth Indianapolis start. Late in the afternoon Hoyt took to the track in his Jim Robbins Special number 23. The car was a chassis built years earlier by Myron Stevens. Hoyt put together a four lap run at 140.040 mph. That was the tenth fastest qualifying average in the 1955 field. It's a unique mark in "Indianapolis 500" history as it’s the slowest speed in relation to the rest of the starting field ever for the pole winner.
Seeing that Hoyt was going to end up winning the "500" pole without a challenge Bettenhausen went on to the track to make a run just before track closing time at 6 PM. Tony couldn't quite beat Hoyt's speed with a four lap average speed of 139.980 mph. But it still placed him in the middle of the front row for the race.
The following day six more drivers made it into the field. Bill Vukovich broke the one lap record with a speed of 141.309 mph and the four-lap record with a run at 141.071 mph. The Howard Keck Fuel Injection Special number 14 KK500A that carried Vukovich to "Indianapolis 500" wins in 1953 and 1954 had been retired. For 1955 Vukovich and his brilliant chief mechanics Jim Travers and Frank Coon took over the Lindsey Hopkins KK500C number 4.
Jack McGrath broke both of the new Vukovich records at 143.793 mph and 142.580 mph respectively in Jack Hinkle's KK500C number 3. Fred Agabashian (141.930), Sam Hanks (140.000), Walt Faulkner (139.760) and Andy Linden (139.090) also made it into the 1955 "500" starting field on the second day of qualifications.
The 1955 "Indianapolis 500" started as an intense battle between Vukovich and his rival McGrath. The two drivers put on a classic fight with Vukovich's metallic blue number 4 and McGrath's pale yellow number 3 running wheel to wheel for much of the first quarter of the race. Then McGrath retired on lap 55 with magneto failure. Two laps later, coming out of turn two, Al Keller, Johnny Boyd and Rodger Ward crashed into each other. This happened directly in front of Vukovich, who couldn't avoid the melee. Vukovich's car went airborne somersaulting end over end in one of the most violent crashes in racing history. The car flipped out of the track and hit a couple automobiles parked nearby. Vukovich was killed instantly being partially decapitated in the accident.
After the Vukovich crash, Jimmy Bryan took the lead until his Dean Van Lines Kuzma number 2 quit with fuel pump problems on lap 90. Then Art Cross (in the same Belanger number 99 Tony Bettenhausen would race in 1956) and Don Freeland both had turns in the lead before Bob Sweikert took control to win.
I don't recall the exact circumstances. I believe the deal had been pre-arranged that Bettenhausen's buddy Paul Russo would relieve Tony for awhile during the 1955 "500." With Bettenhausen at the wheel, the number 10 Chapman Special finished second to Sweikert one lap behind. Bettenhausen finished fourth in the final point standings for the 1955 season. I believe Tony also finished second to Pat Flaherty in a 250-mile race at Milwaukee.
1955 was the most deadly racing season in history. "500" drivers Mike Nazaruk and Larry Crockett were killed in early season crashes. Manuel Ayulo was killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway practicing for the "500." Within a month after Bill Vukovich's fatal crash at Indianapolis, a Mercedes Benz racer driven by Pierre Levegh plowed into a spectator area during the Le Mans 24-hour race. More than eighty people watching the Le Mans race were killed, as was Levegh. Before the season was over both Jerry Hoyt and Jack McGrath also lost their lives in racing accidents.
Racing almost came to a halt in Europe. The 1955 World Championship was shortened to seven events including the "Indianapolis 500." After Le Mans there were only three Formula One Grand Prix events held. The American Automobile Association (AAA), which had sanctioned racing in this country since the beginning, announced it would withdraw from the sport at the end of 1955. Senator Richard Neuberger of Oregon called for an end to motor racing in the United States. Tony Hulman quickly organized a group of Indianapolis businessmen and racing enthusiasts into the United States Auto Club (USAC) to fill the void left by the departure of AAA.
The future of racing seemed uncertain in late 1955. It was a time of big changes not completely unlike what racing has seen in the past five or six years. In Indy car racing the cars hadn't changed particularly but the list of notable competitors had. Not only was Vukovich the master gone but his number one rival Jack McGrath was dead too.
In May 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower was completing his first term. Richard Nixon was vice-president. The 1956 presidential campaign was starting to heat up. 1952 nominee Adlai Stevenson was leading a pack of Democrat hopefuls that included Tennessee senator Estes Kefauver, Michigan governor G. Mennen Williams and Averill Harriman. Texas Democrats ruled both houses of Congress. Sam Rayburn was Speaker of the House. Rayburn's protégé Lyndon Johnson was the Senate Majority Leader.
John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State and U.S. foreign policy was called "brinkmanship." The Soviet Union was the nemesis and the spread of Communism represented the worst national fear. The Soviets discovered how to build the atom bomb by 1953 and American children practiced getting under desks at school to hide from attack by Russian missiles.
Elvis Presley burst on the national scene a few months earlier. His records were the hottest selling products in the history of music. Presley's records and occasional network television appearances were propelling him into the forefront of public consciousness. "Elvis-mania" was quickly becoming a national craze. The singer's gyrations and wild appearance were driving adolescent girls into sexual frenzy. Elvis was causing their parents worry and sleepless nights. Rock and roll music was moving beyond its black rhythm and blues roots and driving the new youth culture.
"I Love Lucy" was the most popular
program on television. Singer Perry Como and comedians Jackie Gleason and Sid
Caesar were Saturday night staples. Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen
battled for viewers on Sunday night. Edward R. Murrow gave us the news each
evening on CBS while smoke from the familiar cigarette swirled in front of his
face. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley were a new pairing that NBC was trying in
an attempt to grab some of the CBS News audience. Dave Garroway and a
chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs woke us up each morning with the "Today"
program.
Major League baseball was number one. The Brooklyn Dodgers had finally beaten the New York Yankees the previous October in the World Series. The Yankees and Dodgers were heading for a 1956 Series rematch. Slugger Mickey Mantle was on the way to his "triple crown" season (batting - .353, home runs - 52, rbi's - 142 or something like that), recalling memories of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and other Yankee legends.
World's heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano retired from the ring undefeated in late 1955. Perennial World's light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore who had been Marciano's final victim became the number one title contender. Moore signed to fight former Olympic boxing gold medallist Floyd Patterson in November 1956 in Chicago for Marciano's vacated championship.
The National Football League had yet to capture the national attention. NFL games were played mainly in front of regional TV audiences and there were only 12 teams in the league. The top performer in professional football was former USC All American Frank Gifford, a running back for the New York Giants.
The Novi racers, with their large powerful supercharged V8 engines, were perhaps the most popular cars ever to race in the "Indianapolis 500." It's true! During the Novi years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway there wasn't a favorite driver especially. Whoever was driving the Novi was the crowd favorite. The Novi V8 engine made its debut in the 1941 "500." The tenth place Miller driven by Ralph Hepburn was powered by a Novi.
When the "Indianapolis 500" resumed after World War II in 1946 Ralph Hepburn returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a brand new Novi. Hepburn set one and four lap records of 134.449 mph and 133.944 mph respectively although the Novi only started the race from nineteenth position on the grid. Hepburn led 44 laps of the race but was out after 121 laps to finish fourteenth.
I believe Hepburn was killed during practice for the 1947 "500" in one of the Novi entries. Cliff Bergere qualified one Novi in second position and Herb Ardinger qualified the other fourth for the 1947 race. Bergere led 23 laps in the race but was out after 62 laps with piston failure. Ardinger finished fourth.
Duke Nalon was the fastest qualifier for the 1948 "500" at 131.600 mph but started eleventh. In the "500" Nalon led nine laps and finished third behind Lou Moore's Blue Crown Spark Plug cars driven by winner Mauri Rose and second place Bill Holland.
The following year Nalon took pole for the 1949 "500" at 123.930 mph. But Rex Mays in the other Novi was faster at 129.550 mph and started second. I'd like to know the story about that. Nalon went to the front at the start to lead the first 23 laps before a fiery crash in turn three took him out. Mays led 12 laps but went out after 48 laps with engine trouble.
For whatever reason the Novis missed the 1950 "Indianapolis 500." But Duke Nalon qualified for pole position for the 1951 "500" with a track record 137.049 mph for one lap and 136.498 mph for four laps. In the 1951 race Nalon stalled on the backstretch after completing 151 laps to finish tenth.
Nalon qualified one Novi in fourth position for the 1952 "Indianapolis 500." But Nalon had a Novi teammate in May 1952. Veteran Chet Miller qualified on the final day of time trials with a record 139.600 mph for one lap and 139.034 mph for four laps. Miller was out of the race after 41 laps with supercharger problems to finish thirtieth. Nalon's Novi dropped out after 84 laps with the same problem and Duke finished in twenty-fifth place.
By 1953 the old Novi front drive was becoming dated. Duke Nalon qualified 26th and finished eleventh, spinning in turn three and completing 191 laps. The Novi failed to make the 1954 "500." In 1955 Troy Ruttman tried and failed to make the "500" field in a Novi. For 1956 car owner Lou Welch retired the ten year-old front drive Novi models and replaced them with two new rear drive creations built by Frank Kurtis. This caused a buzz among the Indy car racing community.
When the two new Novi entries arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 7, 1956 the cars became a sensation. They were beautiful cars, one a red number 29 and the other a pale yellow number 31. The new Novi sported a sleek shark like tail fin and a lower profile than most of the other cars at the Speedway. But neither new Novi had an assigned driver. Jimmie Davies, who had finished third in the 1955 "500" was considered an early choice. But Davies later vacated the number 31 car, saying he wasn't comfortable. I don't believe Davies, a notable competitor during the early 1950's, ever made another attempt to make the "500."
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for practice for the 1956 "Indianapolis 500" on April 28. There were 59 cars entered for the "500." Among the entries was a specially built Ferrari for 1950 World Champion Guiseppe Nino Farina. Farina was incredibly slow in the Ferrari, running about 20 mph off the pace. Most of the Speedway track surface had been repaved with the exception of the bricks on the main straightaway so new speed records were anticipated.
In 1956 there wasn't much racing on television. I believe Indianapolis TV channel WFBM (now WRTV) channel 6 was presenting their "Trackside 6" program each afternoon from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Tom Carnegie. The program came on at 5:45 PM during the final fifteen minutes of practice activity. There was some racing action provided by the three cameras situated high on the main straight, in turn two and turn three. But the program was mostly interviews. WFBM also had live TV coverage of each qualification day from 4:30 to 5:30 PM. The thing I most looked forward to each day, during "500" practice, was the "Speedway Album" presented in The Indianapolis News every afternoon. This was when I got to have a good look at the racing cars at the Speedway.
The speed record the drivers were shooting for was 143.793 mph set the previous May during the qualification run of Jack McGrath. 1955 "500" winner Bob Sweikert was the first driver to exceed McGrath's speed. On May 5, Sweikert had a practice lap at 143.839 mph. Sweikert left car owner John Zink and chief mechanic A.J. Watson after winning the "500" and the 1955 National Championship. He signed to drive the brand new yellow D-A Lubricants roadster built by Eddie Kuzma for owners Art Lathrop and Coleman Glover. The move appeared to be a good one after Sweikert's quick lap.
On May 14, Sam Hanks beat Sweikert's speed with a
lap at 144.06 mph in the Jones & Maley KK500C prepared by George Salih. But
Tony Bettenhausen went on to the track later in the day and turned a lap at
144.951 mph. I remember the day of Tony's quick lap, The next morning's edition
of The Indianapolis Star carried the headlines on the front page with a
photo of Bettenhausen smiling from cockpit of the number 99 Belanger Motors
Special. I recall the newspaper reports in The Star referring to Tony as
"the flying Dutchman."
Paul Russo had taken over the red number 29 Novi. On May 15 Russo did a phenomenal lap at 146.6 mph. Pat O'Connor came close on May 18 but the best he could do was 145.9 mph in a 1955 model KK500D Ansted Rotary Special number 7.
I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before my first trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday May 19. My dad was taking me to the Speedway but first we had to go to his work place for a Saturday sales meeting. My dad was a salesman for the Eagle Machine Company at 635 East Market Street in downtown Indianapolis. Charles W. Yount, my maternal grandfather, started Eagle Machine Company in 1910 with his father. I was pissed off that my dad had to go to work because I wanted to get to the Speedway on the sunny but cool Saturday. By the time we were able to leave for the track two cars had already qualified.
Jim Rathmann was driving the same KK500C Hopkins Special in which Bill Vukovich had been killed the previous year. On the first of his four laps in the rebuilt and renovated metallic blue Hopkins number 24 Rathmann broke Jack McGrath's one lap record with a speed of 144.811 mph. On his third lap Rathmann went even faster at 146.033 mph. Rathmann's average speed of 145.120 mph shattered McGrath's four-lap record of 142.580 mph. The second qualifier was Jim Rathmann's older brother Dick who averaged 144.470 mph in the number 73 McNamara Special, which featured a fancy gold and maroon paint job.
I remember the drive to the Speedway that day. Dad drove west on Michigan Street from downtown. For years I kept trying to remember where we were when we passed a Sinclair DX gas station that featured the classic 1930's look you see in the old photos. The station was just south of the Allison plant but I wasn't quite sure where. In 1989 I had reason to pass through the same area often. The Sinclair station had been located at Michigan and Rowena Street. The last time I looked a lawn mower repair business occupied the same building as the Sinclair DX station had in May 1956.
My dad parked his car in Speedway just south and west of the track. I recall walking by the Linde Prestolite factory across Sixteenth Street from the main gate and the brand new museum and office building built at the corner of Sixteenth and Georgetown Road. I also recall a long line of Indianapolis city busses parked on Main Street in Speedway loading and unloading hundreds of race fans.
It was close to noon as we entered the Speedway grounds. My heart was beating like it would burst I was so excited to finally arrive inside the hallowed grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Although the big penthouse grandstands in turn one are still standing in the same place they were in May 1956 it seemed like nearly everything else was painted white with green trim around the grounds outside turn one. There were little white bungalows and Quonset hut type structures all over the grounds where the modern Speedway office complex now stands.
My dad purchased an official "500" souvenir program for me. The "500" program was published by the Cornelius Printing Company. The Cornelius family was friends of my parents and for several years George Cornelius Jr. sold me "Indianapolis 500" tickets. I could hear Tom Carnegie's voice booming from the public address system when we stopped at a concession stand. I had one of the now famous "track dogs." I doubt if anything ever tasted as good before or since. I despise boiled franks and I wouldn't eat a "track dog" at the Speedway now if I were starving to death. For that matter, if I did eat a "track dog" I'd get terrible heartburn. I like the food at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway however. Since about 1994 they've made great strides and I like most of what they serve at the track. But I can't stand the "track dogs." However at the age of nine on May 19, 1956 during my first trip to the Speedway I loved them. I believe I had a couple at the track covered with yellow mustard.
Then we climbed the stairs to enter Grandstand A past the starting line and across from the pits. This was my first look at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the inside and it was beautiful, everything I ever imagined it would be. This was the final year of the old wooden Pagoda control tower at the entrance to the pits. The pits were open to the track without any barriers between where cars stopped during the race and the racing surface. Think about how dangerous that was for crewmen when cars came into the pits during the race! During practice and qualifications, cars pulled in behind the pit wall when coming off the track.
The grandstands were jammed to near capacity. The
Speedway used to get close to two-thirds the crowd on Pole day that came on
race day. The final year I can remember huge crowds for qualifying was 1977. I
don't know the crowd estimate at the Speedway on May 19, 1956. However as part of the research for this
piece, I looked at my old copy of Floyd Clymer's 1956 Indianapolis 500 Mile
Race Official Yearbook. I'm not sure if they were referring to the infield
parking or admission to the grounds in the report. In the Clymer book it's
reported that the crowd coming to the first day of qualifications for the 1956
"500" was so large that the Speedway was closed for two hours to
outside crowds. I know it was the largest crowd I'd seen in my life to that
time.
Those were glorious days for the "Indianapolis 500." The "500" was actually more of a regional than national event. Without live TV coverage not as many people were aware of what happened during each "500" as now. But in Indianapolis, being at the Speedway on Pole day was the thing to do for the locals. It was almost as important to be at the track on Pole day as the day of the "Indianapolis 500." In 1956 there were three very important events each year in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. This was eleven years before the Indiana Pacers came into being, 16 years before Bob Knight became basketball coach at Indiana University and 28 years before the Colts left Baltimore. The boy's high school basketball tournament happened in March and it was huge. Qualifications for the "Indianapolis 500" weren't only a prelude for the "500" like today. They were an event of huge magnitude almost as popular as the race. On Memorial day May 30 when the "500" was held, the race story was so big in Indianapolis that all three daily newspapers published updated editions throughout the afternoon detailing what was taking place in the "500."
I'm trying to recall the first car I saw on the track. It was either Ed Elisian's number 10 Hoyt Machine Special, a metallic rose colored KK500C, or Rodger Ward's number 19 Filter Queen Special red, maroon and gold KK500C. For both Elisian and Ward, it was their first race in a roadster style car. I remember thinking when I watched both drivers they had stepped up to a better ride than the previous May at Indianapolis. Elisian qualified at 141.382 mph while Ward averaged 141.171 mph for the four lap qualifying run.
Ed Elisian was a curious character. Elisian had an Eastern European face and a full head of dark wavy hair. He was a good friend of Bill Vukovich and came from (I believe) Oakland, California. Elisian made five starts in the "Indianapolis 500" beginning in 1954 when he started thirty-first and finished eighteenth. There's a familiar photo of Elisian visiting Vukovich in the winner's garage after the 1954 "500." One year later Elisian qualified twenty-ninth and finished thirtieth in the 1955 "500." Elisian stopped his car at the scene of Vukovich's fatal crash and ran to his friend's burning car. I believe Elisian was the first person to reach the crash and find Vukovich dead. Elisian is most famous for being blamed for causing the crash in turn three on the first lap of the 1958 "500" which eliminated seven cars and claimed the life of Pat O'Connor. Elisian didn't return to Indy car racing until August 1959 at Milwaukee where he was killed in a crash. Like I try to convey racing was a violent and deadly sport in the 1950's.
Rodger Ward was a fighter pilot during World War II who hailed from Beloit, Kansas. Ward became one of the most successful drivers in "Indianapolis 500" history when he joined forces with mechanic A.J. Watson and car owner Bob Wilke in 1959. From 1959 through 1964, Ward had consecutive "500" finishes of first, second, third, first, fourth and second. In 1956 things weren't going as well for Ward however. Although he won Indy car races on the dirt at Springfield and Detroit in 1953, Ward's record at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was unimpressive. Beginning with 1951 Rodger finished twenty-seventh, twenty-third, sixteenth, twenty-second and twenty-eighth respectively. Ward was driving the same car that carried Troy Ruttman to victory in the 1952 "500" in 1955. An axle broke on the car on lap 57, which set off the chain reaction crash, which took Bill Vukovich's life. Ward was blamed for the Vukovich crash by some people. I believe Rodger was also involved in another crash in 1953 or 1954 at a one-mile dirt oval in which Clay Smith was killed. Smith was the chief mechanic on Troy Ruttman's winning Agajanian Special in the 1952 "500."
17 cars qualified on May 19. Unlike more recent years when "Indianapolis 500" qualifying runs seem to come in bunches, the pace was more leisurely in 1956. I recall periods when the track was empty and then one car or another came out to run a few practice laps. It was all very enjoyable for me since I hadn't seen any of this before. Each racing car was special to me because it was a racing car. Each driver was like a hero because he drove a racing car.
A.J. Watson prepared the winning John Zink KK500C for Bob Sweikert in 1955. That car had been taken over by Troy Ruttman who qualified on May 19 at 142.480 mph. Watson also built a brand new lightweight roadster for John Zink. It was the first Indianapolis roadster built by Watson. The driver was red-haired Pat Flaherty, a 30-year old Chicagoan, who wore a green shamrock on his helmet.
Flaherty made his first "Indianapolis 500" in 1950, starting eleventh and finishing tenth. He didn't get back into the "500" until 1953 when he qualified twenty-fourth and finished in twenty-second place. Flaherty missed the 1954 "500" but came back in 1955 to qualify twelfth and finish tenth.
In retrospect Pat Flaherty isn't one of the more noteworthy winners of the "Indianapolis 500." Other than his win from pole in the 1956 "Indianapolis 500" he has little else to show from his career. He had two other Indy car wins, both coming at Milwaukee in August 1955 and June 1956. Considering his record coming into 1956, what led John Zink and A.J. Watson to hire Flaherty to replace defending Indianapolis winner Bob Sweikert is interesting to ponder. There must've been something about Flaherty that appealed to Zink and Watson. Flaherty certainly justified the confidence placed in him with his 1956 performance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Who knows what Flaherty might've accomplished had he not suffered serious injuries at Springfield later in the 1956 season?
On May 19, 1956 Pat Flaherty had the world in his hands. He made the John Zink Special car number 8 fly when he went out to qualify. I can see Flaherty racing by, wearing a short sleeve turquoise shirt that stood out from his racing car, painted in white and rose. Flaherty managed to just beat Jim Rathmann's earlier record (146.033) with a lap at 146.056 mph. Flaherty's margin over Rathmann (145.120) for four laps was slightly larger with an average speed of 145.596 mph.
The Watson built Zink car number 8 did have a more modern look than the large number of KK500C entries at the Speedway in 1956. Next to the new Novi however, Flaherty's car looked old. The primary advantage Watson's design had over the other cars is that it was substantially lighter. The car was also more balanced and easier to adjust.
Of the two Pats running in the 1956 "Indianapolis 500," the one named O'Connor seemed like more like a potential star than the one named Flaherty. Pat O'Connor was a young, good-looking guy from North Vernon, Indiana.
O'Connor made his debut in the 1954 "Indianapolis 500" driving a brand new KK500C for Lindsey Hopkins. This was the same car that carried Bill Vukovich to his death one year later. It was also the car that Jim Rathmann set the one and four lap records at the start of qualifications on May 19, 1956. In the 1954 "500" O'Connor started twelfth and finished twenty-first.
In 1955 O'Connor drove a brand new KK500D for William B. Ansted and chief mechanic Ray Nichols. It was a good deal for O'Connor to hook up with Nichols who later became famous building Dodge stock cars for a bunch of people like A.J. Foyt and Paul Goldsmith. O'Connor started nineteenth in the 1955 "500" and finished eighth.
O'Connor was one of the favorites for the "500" pole going into qualifications. But the best O'Connor could get from his light yellow and black number 7 Ansted Rotary Special KK500D was a four-lap average of 144.980 mph. That put O'Connor on the outside of the front row for the 1956 "500" with Flaherty and Jim Rathmann.
If I remember correctly Paul Russo didn't have an especially good day on May 19. I think he made two or three tries before he finally qualified at 143.540 mph in the number 29 Novi Vespa Special. Apparently Russo was trying hard to win pole position after setting the fastest speeds in practice.
My dad told me we had to leave the Speedway around 4:30 PM. He and my mom were going out that evening. Although the sun was shining brightly it was cool and I don't think my dad was enjoying himself that much. I began to wonder if I was going to see Tony Bettenhausen qualify or even get on the track. The later in the day the more nervous I became.
Then sometime around 3:30 PM I saw the blue and yellow clad Belanger crew led by Tiny Worley and Earl "Frenchy" Sirois push the number 99 Belanger Motors Special KK500C to the pits. That really was a beautiful racing car! The afternoon sunshine reflected off the shiny navy blue paint on the car and the gold leaf numbers sparkled in contrast.
I saw Tony Bettenhausen walk to car 99. Unlike most of the drivers who wore tee shirts, Bettenhausen had on a pair of white coveralls, which were the 1956 equivalent of racing uniforms. Bettenhausen put on his Gentex jet pilot style crash helmet. I thought that was really neat. Most of the drivers were still wearing the traditional Cromwell helmet. But a few like Bettenhausen were using the new style. Actually Bettenhausen pioneered the use of the jet pilot style helmet in the 1953 "Indianapolis 500." This was the immediate predecessor to the full-face helmets, which were introduced by Dan Gurney in 1968. Bettenhausen's helmet wasn't unlike the kind Dale Earnhardt was wearing when he was killed in the "Daytona 500."
Bettenhausen went on to the track for a few practice laps. Then he came back to the pits and Tom Carnegie announced to the crowd that Tony was going to make a qualifying run. I loved watching Bettenhausen bring car 99 off turn four to take the green flag and begin his run. It was the biggest thrill of my life to that time. It was a clean effort too, the best of Bettenhausen's "Indianapolis 500" career. Tony's four-lap average was 144.600 mph, which placed him fifth on the grid.
We watched a few more cars qualify and then we left. I was so revved up when I got home I jumped on my English racer bicycle and rode it as fast as I could. I was the Tony Bettenhausen of East Seventy-seventh Street.
I thought about taking this piece all the way
through my first "Indianapolis 500" eleven days later on May 30. Then
I decided to let this memory and supporting stories stand on their own. It's
been fun thinking back about Tony Bettenhausen and the events leading up to my
first trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 19, 1956. As things turned
out it was one of the most meaningful days of my life. What's interesting is
the more I thought about my first trip to the Speedway the less long ago it
seemed.
By the way, when I left the Speedway last May 20, Juan Montoya was sitting on pole position for the "500" with an average speed of 223.372 mph. I was so cold that I left at 3:30 PM. I came home and took a nap. When I woke up I was pleasantly surprised to find that Greg Ray had won the pole for the Indy Racing League with a run at 223.471 mph. Of course as we all know now Montoya kicked ass eight days later in the race.
qualifiers for the
"Indianapolis 500" - May 19, 1956
|
position |
car number |
|
|
|
qualifying
speed |
|
1 |
8 |
Pat Flaherty |
John Zink |
Watson/Offy |
145.590 |
|
2 |
24 |
Jim Rathmann |
Lindsey
Hopkins |
KK500C/Offy |
145.120 |
|
3 |
7 |
Pat O'Connor |
Ansted
Rotary |
KK500D/Offy |
144.980 |
|
4 |
73 |
Dick Rathmann |
McNamara/Kalamazoo
Sports |
KK500C/Offy |
144.470 |
|
5 |
99 |
Tony Bettenhausen |
Belanger
Motors |
KK500C/Offy |
144.600 |
|
6 |
98 |
Johnnie Parsons |
J.C.
Agajanian |
Kuzma/Offy |
144.140 |
|
7 |
42 |
Fred Agabashian |
Federal
Engineering |
KK500C/Offy |
144.060 |
|
8 |
29 |
Paul Russo |
Novi
Vespa/Novi Racing |
Kurtis/Novi |
143.540 |
|
9 |
5 |
Andy Linden |
H.A.
Chapman |
KK500C/Offy |
143.050 |
|
10 |
1 |
Bob Sweikert |
D-A
Lubricants Racing |
Kuzma/Offy |
143.030 |
|
11 |
53 |
Troy Ruttman |
John Zink |
KK500C/Offy |
142.480 |
|
12 |
15 |
Johnny Boyd |
Bowes
Seal Fast/Bignotti |
KK500E/Offy |
142.330 |
|
13 |
4 |
Sam Hanks |
Jones
& Maley/Cars Inc. |
KK500C/Offy |
142.050 |
|
14 |
10 |
Ed Elisian |
Hoyt
Machine/Fred Sommer |
KK500C/Offy |
141.380 |
|
15 |
19 |
Rodger Ward |
Filter
Queen/Ed Walsh |
KK500C/Offy |
141.170 |
|
16 |
48 |
Jimmy Daywalt |
Sumar/Chapman
Root |
KK500D/Offy |
140.970 |
|
17 |
49 |
Ray Crawford |
Ray
Crawford |
KK500B/Offy |
140.880 |