Firsts and Lasts in Motorsports

[Stan Reid]

I believe the last new front engine car to appear for qualifying in the Indy 500 was the 1969 Jack Adams Airplanes Special. It was a front engine AWD turbine vehicle. Al Miller practiced in the car but it failed to qualify.

[Stan Reid]

I believe the last new front engine car to appear for qualifying in the Indy 500 was the 1969 Jack Adams Airplanes Special. It was a front engine AWD turbine vehicle. Al Miller practiced in the car but it failed to qualify.

The first rear (mid) engine car to appear for qualifying in the Indy 500 was the 1937 Oldfield-Marmon Special. It was a 6 liter OHV V-16 machine which was practice driven by rookie Lee Oldfield but it failed to qualify.

[Stan Reid]

J. G. Parry-Thomas, the first driver killed in a Land Speed Record attempt. His car, Babs went out of control after a mechanical failure and flipped down Pendine Sands in Wales on, this date, March 3 of 1927.

[Stan Reid]

I believe the last new front engine car to appear for qualifying in the Indy 500 was the 1969 Jack Adams Airplanes Special. It was a front engine AWD turbine vehicle. Al Miller practiced in the car but it failed to qualify.

It was also the last turbine car to be entered in the 500. And to be totally accurate, I believe it did technically qualify the way they play it at Indy and was then bumped from the field by a faster car. At Indy if you complete a qualifying run, you are considered qualified until at least 33 cars turn in a faster time at which point you are considered as bumped (disqualified from the starting lineup).

[Stan Reid]

It was also the last turbine car to be entered in the 500. And to be totally accurate, I believe it did technically qualify the way they play it at Indy and was then bumped from the field by a faster car. At Indy if you complete a qualifying run, you are considered qualified until at least 33 cars turn in a faster time at which point you are considered as bumped (disqualified from the starting lineup).

Correction regarding this 1969 entry-It was not the last turbine! Jack Adams entered rear engine Glen Bryant chassis/Pratt & Whitney turbines for Indy in both 1970 and 1971 with driver Rick Muther (1970 for driver Jigger Sirois also). They failed to qualify both years but ran in several other USAC Championship events with a best finish of 8th in the 1970 Trenton 200. The car's last run was in the Milwaukee 100 on June 6 of 1971 but it dropped out of that race. Muther was at the controls in both the above mentioned races.

Note: Some sources list the car as an Eagle or a Gerhardt and the turbine as an Allison so take your pick-it's the last turbine at any rate unless I find otherwise.

[Stan Reid]

Correction regarding this 1969 entry-It was not the last turbine! Jack Adams entered rear engine Glen Bryant chassis/Pratt & Whitney turbines for Indy in both 1970 and 1971 with driver Rick Muther (1970 for driver Jigger Sirois also) . They failed to qualify both years but ran in several other USAC Championship events with a best finish of 8th in the 1970 Trenton 200. The car's last run was in the Milwaukee 100 on June 6 of 1971 but it dropped out of that race. Muther was at the controls in both the above mentioned races.

Note: Some sources list the car as an Eagle or a Gerhardt and the turbine as an Allison so take your pick-it's the last turbine at any rate unless I find otherwise.

Here's the car looking good in 1970 with Jigger Sirois seated.

Attachment 1087 Click

[Stan Reid]

First non F1 car to win a WC event-Piero Taruffi driving a Ferrari 500 F2 car in the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix

First WC event won by a non F1 legal car-Bill Vukovich driving a Kurtis Kraft/Offenhauser in the 1954 Indianapolis 500

[Stan Reid]

The first and only time that a single person officially held more than one of the three ultimate speed records was from September 1 of 1937 to November 19 of 1937 when Malcolm Campbell held both the water and land speed records.

Notes:

From August 23 of 1909 to August 24 of 1909, Glenn Curtiss unofficially held both the air and land speed records.

From July 17 of 1964 to December 11 of 1964, Donald Campbell held the water speed record and the FIA automobile land speed record but the actual land speed record at the time (recognized by both USAC and the FIM) was held by Craig Breedlove.

[Stan Reid]

The first and last auto race track with banking greater than 55 degrees was the Autodromo de Sitges-Terramar built in 1923 near Barcelona, Spain. The one and a quarter mile concrete kidney shaped quasi-oval had (has) 60 degree banked turns at each end! Does "terramar" mean terrifying in Spanish?

[Stan Reid]

The Rainhill Trials in Northern England on October 6-8 of 1829 would seem to be the first land based motorsports competition. It was a rally of sorts where 5 locomotives (four were steam powered and one was powered by a horse on a treadmill) were clocked as they ran back and forth on a level mile long stretch of rails. The event was won by Robert Stevenson's steam locomotive named the Rocket. Steam locomotives also placed second and third. The horse powered machine came in forth only ahead of the forth steam locomotive that was a DNS.