The Indianapolis 500 - Volume Three: Watson’s Wonders (1959 – 1962)

The Indianapolis 500 - Volume Three: Watson’s Wonders (1959 – 1962)

Brian G. Boettcher

Published by Constant Velocity Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2013, Brian G. Boettcher

v.1 (3/13)

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Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter One: A Sanitary Operation (1959)

Chapter Two: Watson vs. Watson (1960)

Chapter Three: All the way (1961)

Chapter Four: …and he run unlucky (1962)

Chapter Five: Total Performance

Bibliography

Preface

Beginning 1959 Watson cars were the gold standard in national championship racing, winning the Sweepstakes annually and dominating the field. They were simple and effective rides at the Speedway and on the national championship tracks, eschewing gimmicks like laid-over engines. Once again there were complaints of technological staleness surrounding the 500. The various attempts over the previous decade to shake things up, to add variety to the show, failed to take root.

The Europeans did not respond to the Race of Two Worlds as perhaps Tony Hulman and his deputies hoped to restore the original international flavor of the 500-mile race. The Monza races stained the image of European drivers, who were generally dismissed as less manly than their courageous American counterparts. Those who came to the Speedway were not up to the competition, most leaving under some comic cloud, including one legendary World Champion.

The sportsmen who owned the American entries had no desire to invest greater sums in equipment, which could be kept competitive for years. Little science or formal engineering went into their design or construction. Innovation came from one or another mechanic tweaking, the others copying when proven successful. There were few secrets among the fraternity – Watson frequently provided his plans to builders who asked. There also appears to have been an implicit understanding that maintained financial sanity and a competitive balance between the high rollers and the small operators that allowed all to survive in the game. Rules changes were ordinarily stretched over time to ensure fair amortization of equipment and ensure its future salability. Owners were thus spared any potential financial shock.

The boomers ripened as an economic force in America. Since the war middle class life shifted from urban to suburban settings, which compelled the ownership and use of a car for transportation. The combination made for the mass arrival of an automobile driving generation, soon reflected in styling cues, marketing, and sales numbers. It was the beginning of America’s interstate highways, truly opening up the country to family automobile travel to See the U.S.A. on a week or two of vacation down Route 66.

Popular culture embraced cars, motorcycles and what today is called powersports. Men and boys tinkered with the machines in garages and driveways. The radio carried songs that extolled everything from cute little Ramblers to powerful Cobras and 409s. Gasoline companies put things like ethyl in their super-grade 100-octane fuel and tigers in a car’s gas tank to fire up the V-8 engines under the hood. Buyers wanted pick-up from their increasingly powerful engines, not necessarily economy. Enthusiast magazines and racing newspapers, among them Car and Driver and Road and Track, reached an increasing number of young, hip readers. And with that, Americans continued to flock to the races, from the local quarter-mile bullrings to regional road courses and the growing number of superspeedways.

While USAC and NASCAR were the racing giants, the Sports Car Club of America reflected a growing American interest in European-style road racing, with small, light cars generally powered by smaller, high revving engines. The SCCA, born of well-to-do enthusiasts, attempted to hold back the tide of professionalism in its events even while its amateur talent pool held world-class excellence that demanded compensation over trophies. Several took refuge in Europe, others quietly took money from race organizers or car owners at home. USAC recognized an opportunity and established a professional Road Racing circuit.

At the inaugural running of the formula one United States Grand Prix at Sebring, two dirt midget drivers from different continents came together to prime an automotive revolution. In California an American revolution was brewing. The times they were about to be a-changin' ….

BGB

Columbia, MD

Chapter One: A Sanitary Operation (1959)

Explaining that the Club needed more administrative and organizational experience in the position Tom Binford, USAC president, and the board dismissed Duane Carter as USAC's director of competition, replacing him with Henry Banks, a former driver and an executive with Ford Motor Company's aircraft division. Banks traveled to Indianapolis expecting to be interviewed by the board, instead learning upon landing that he had been hired. Carter responded angrily, The USAC board hired itself a yes man. when he learned at his dismissal and Banks' appointment. As a result the Continental Casualty Company immediately canceled its special risk insurance on USAC drivers, saying Carter was the only person thought capable of increasing safety factors the company demanded. At the same meeting, the board rejected another Ed Elisian reinstatement request, and suspended 1952 Sweepstakes winner Troy Ruttman a year for conduct detrimental to racing. Like Elisian, Ruttman had personal debt problems and off-track incidents

Daytona International Speedway, a two-and-a-half mile tri-oval designed for 200 mile per hour speeds, opened on February 7th after two years construction with the first of six qualifying days for its inaugural weekend events. The new speedway featured 31 degree banking – the steepest angle at which an asphalt track could be laid. Beginning Friday, February 20th, a two race inaugural card was scheduled, a 100-mile NASCAR Grand National stock car race, and a 100-mile National Convertible run. Saturday held a 200-mile modified and sportsman race, with a 25-mile consolation for late models. Then Sunday offered a 500 mile Grand National race.

Three USAC-sanctioned races were also scheduled in April, including a 100-mile national championship race, a 100-mile formula libre run, and a 1,000 kilometer sports car endurance event. At the announcement Henry Banks remarked the Daytona track has been built for a car to go as fast as it can.

Two-time AAA national stock car champion Marshall Teague was killed February 11th attempting a new world speed record. His Sumar Streamliner, with its cockpit bubble and fenders in place, flipped five times in the first turn at the new speedway. He had set an American speedway record two days earlier at 171.82 miles per hour. Failing to break Tony Bettenhausen’s record Monza lap speed of 176.818, Teague brought the car back to the track with different gearing and a suspension adjusted to provide a lower center of gravity. Pit observers said the car appeared heavy in the front when Teague took the track. Radio announcer Ben Taylor, who witnessed the crash, said the car listed slightly as it went through the turn, and then hurled into the air after the nose dug into the track's asphalt surface. Another witness reported Teague hurled through the enveloping canopy from the car after the seat tore loose. His still-running wristwatch was later found on the track. There was no indication of mechanical or tire failure. It looks like he just lost control, said Bill France, the speedway president.

The steamlined Sumar Special, 1959

On that first turn at Daytona, Roger Ward later told a reporter, there is a slight separation where they joined the racing surface, a small split to the left of center. Just like city streets. Marsh was out there all by himself. I’ll bet his left front wheel hit that just wrong, and he was gone. I had the same experience when I was testing there. Never was more scared. Felt like I was floating, with no control over the car. Just sat there and prayed. Before he was fired, Duane Carter threatened Streamliner owner Chapman Root, a close friend of Tony Hulman, with USAC suspension if he ran any of his cars in the measured mile speed trials on the beach or speedway sanctioned by NASCAR.

The Automobile Club of Milan announced cancellation of the third 500 Miglia di Monza, saying the mandated smaller engines would make the international cars uncompetitive against the American machines, slowing them an estimated 30 miles per hour. Instead, the club sponsored an unlimited grand touring car race.

The USAC road racing division opened its second season on March 8th at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds course in Pomona, California. The number of USAC-sanctioned road racing events expanded to eleven, some attracting high quality international fields. American Ken Miles, driving a Porsche Spyder, won the First Los Angeles Examiner International Grand Prix, sponsored by the chief competitor to the Los Angeles Times, which sponsored its own Grand Prix. The race featured such European sports car stars as two-time Le Mans winner Ron Flockhart, Wolfgang von Tripps, and Maurice Trintignant. Americans included Tony Bettenhausen piloting a Ferrari sponsored by Dean Van Lines, Jim Rathmann, Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney, and Chuck Daigh. It was clear that the American professional sports car racing scene was quickly growing, especially on the coasts, and included Speedway stars. The event drew a reported 22,000 spectators.

Gangway George Amick, 1958 National Championship runner-up, set a new Indianapolis car speed record at Daytona, turning 176.887 miles per hour in the #2 Bowes Seal Fast Special qualifying for the 100-mile National Championship race – more than 30 miles per hour faster than the track’s stock car record. The twenty car field posted an average qualifying speed of 163.921 miles per hour. Among the entries, Bob Wilke’s Leader Card team made its debut, following its formation in September after he hired car builder and master mechanic A.J. Watson from Jack Zink’s team, allowing him to remain in California, even after selling his house.

Watson, just 36 years old, had moved to California after the war to take up racing. He built his first race car in 1947 investing $1000, with himself the driver. I spun going into the first turn during the first qualifying lap. That ended my driving career. I retired, he recalled. He sold the car to Pat Flaherty, making $500 in the deal. This first between entry was a shoestring legend dubbed The Pots ‘n Pans Special. The car cost Watson just $3000, including the engine. He eventually sold stock in the car at the track to raise operating funds. In 1955 Watson became a winner at the Speedway for the first time, wrenching for Bob Sweikert after joining Zink's team. He won again the following year with Flaherty. In ‘58 three Watson-built cars filled the front row, a first for any fabricator. His cars bucked the layover trend that swept over Indianapolis. He placed the engines straight up in his cars. It's just easier to work on a straight up engine. It's a lot less bother and there are fewer problems involved than with the laydown. His success brought comparisons with Lou Moore and Cotton Henning. Over the winter Watson built Wilke two cars, a roadster and a dirt runner.

Robert Wilke, Owner of The Leader Card Racing Team

Rodger Ward was a driver with a checkered past. Earlier, he was seen as a playboy wasting his talents. Watson was not immediately a fan. He was hanging out in the bars like a lot of people did back then. He just never did get a steady ride, until he drove for (Roger Wolcott). He did good in (Wolcott’s) car. Not at the Speedway, but on the miles he ran real good. After Roger Wolcott died in November 1958, Herb Porter, his chief mechanic, packed up the equipment, leaving Ward without a ride. When Wilke started his Leader Card team, Rodger called him looking for a job. After Jim Rathmann, Watson’s first choice, and George Amick both passed on the opportunity, Wilke hired Ward. He just settled down. He just caught on and did good. He had that (Wolcott) ride, but they were having trouble and he was getting kind of hungry. That helps sometimes, recalled Watson.

Ward took Watson's new Leader Card Roadmaster onto the track without any adjustments, later saying the machine was so fast it scared him. Ward qualified third behind the Rathmann brothers. His team mate Jerry Unser crashed in the East turn and was hospitalized. You need to learn a lot about each track before you can drive on it expertly and fast, Eddie Sachs said. A driver should make a few laps around a new speedway like this and then be somewhere for a couple of hours just to sit and think. He should think about what he has done and how he can do it better and safer. Amick, predicting the race winner would average about 169 miles per hour, added, "If you lose it