LOS ANGELES, California — On Saturday, October 30 I received a telephone call from noted race car builder Don Edmunds, the 1957 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year, concerning an incorrect item in my recent coverage of the October 23 Legends of Ascot luncheon in Perris. We chatted for two hours. He said veteran Indy 500 drivers and past CRA sprint car feature winners Steve Chassey and Bruce Walkup let him know that his No. 99 roadster midget had been misidentified. My coverage mentioned the black No. 99 midget with roll-cage on display at the LofA luncheon is owned by Ken Hillberg, of Orange County. Not so. It seems there are TWO No. 99 roadster midgets. Ken owns the yellow No. 99 4-bar roadster midget with a Chevy II engine. Ken said it was the fourth midget roadster ever built (in 1957) by legendary So Cal race car builder Frank Kurtis at his Glendale, CA shop. Ken said Kurtis built ten roadster midgets and his yellow No. 99 is the fourth roadster midget built by the famous Indy Car constructor. Ashley Wright's famous No. 57 Hardwood Door Offy midget roadster raced by Shorty Templeman and others in the 1950s was the second Kurtis roadster midget built, but the first one raced according to Ken. Another Kurtis midget roadster was the black No. 76 Hank Green Offy raced by Leroy Warriner.
The original owner of Ken's No. 99 Kurtis roadster midget was Ed Walker, of Colorado, and it reportedly was light blue with 86 or 68 on it. Jack Skellenger and Ken bought it about 1961 and they raced it as a black No. 15D with an Offy engine on both paved and dirt tracks. They raced with USAC and with the regional USRC series at Ascot and El Toro. They rented the car to Ray Jimenez and he ran it as a yellow No. 99 in 1971-72 with a Chevy II. Next owner in 1975 was Coloradan Phil Stebbins, who was burned racing the car. He sold it to a deputy sheriff in Texas and he was hurt in it. The car was idle for decades until Ken repurchased the still yellow No. 99 roadster midget in 2005. Ken drove it in WRA vintage car events for two years until it cracked the Chevy II engine block and he parked it. Ken, who collects vintage midgets, bought a black No. 5 Rick Stewart upright midget chassis and took the Chevy II engine out of that car and installed it in his No. 99 roadster. Ken said Skellenger, an Iowa native, died about 20 years ago. He added that his yellow No. 99 Kurtis roadster midget is now for sale for $45,000.
I recently came across a Carl Hungness 1973 Indy 500 Yearbook that had information and photos of the Frank Kurtis race car building shop in Glendale, CA during its busy years. The account stated Kurtis claimed to have built 550 complete midgets with the Kurtis Kraft name tag on the dash. His midgets used either Offy or Ford V8-60 engines. That 550 total could be doubled when KK “kits” sold to owners or mechanics to assemble themselves are included in the KK midget total. Kurtis also built 1,500+ quarter midgets for children to race, 22 sprint cars, plus KK 2000 and 3000 Indy cars and Indianapolis 500 roadsters that dominated Indy Car racing for two decades from the 1940s-60s. His cars won many post-WW II Indy 500s and at times more than 20 of his cars filled the 33-car Indy 500 field. Kurtis also built specialty cars and even drove one of his own creations on the streets of So Cal.
DON EDMUNDS: Don, now 80 and living in Brookings, Oregon, told me about the history of his all-time favorite car—the four-wheel independent suspension No. 99 roadster midget, his Edmunds Autoresearch race car construction business, his own racing career and Indy 500 experiences. Don said he built the black/blue striping and gold leaf No. 99 roadster midget on display at the LofA luncheon. Don said it was the first and only 4-wheel independent suspension roadster midget he ever built and he still has the front suspension drawings for it in his possession. He was present at the LofA luncheon and talked to many people about his innovative, but un-raced midget roadster. Don said he built his first midgets in his spare time while working for Bill Thomas. He also worked for Indy race car builder/expert metal-smith Eddie Kuzma. Don opened his own shop at 1418 Central Parkway in Anaheim. His employees usually varied from four to ten depending on workload. He did not stamp the frames with chassis numbers initially and he then put the chassis number on aluminum tags on the dash. His last midget out the door was # 400 and was sold to Steve Lewis. Over the years Don's records show that his firm built 90 sprint cars, 60 super-modifieds, eight champ dirt cars, ten Indy cars, seven Super Vees, a hill-climb car for Bobby Unser, 80 cars for Indy Raceways, three TQ midgets and one Sky-cycle for Evel Knievel. At the peak of his Autoresearch operation in the 1970s he had 26 employees. At that time his firm built Lightning Indy Cars for Lindsey Hopkins and the Indy Raceways “ride cars” for Frank Abramoff. (with Paul Newman and Mario Andretti also involved in that venture). Don sold his Autoresearch car building firm in 1981 to Riverside-based racing dentist Jim “the Tooth Doc” Giardina, DDS, who also drove sprint cars and midgets on weekends. He moved the firm and Don's ex-employees to a nearby rented building. Don kept his original building because he was still running a Super Vee program for Steve Lewis for driver Stan Fox. After a year or two, Giardina sold the business to Joe Binter who moved it back to Don's original site in Anaheim. After a few years Joe paid off the business and turned it over to his son Joie, who moved it briefly to San Diego. Later it went to Autocraft in La Habra. Eventually it became ex-midget driver Jeff Wahl's business to run as a one-man band part-time.
EDMUNDS No. 99 ROADSTER: After building more than 600 outstanding and respected cars, Don told me the No. 99 roadster was his “pride and joy” and the best car he ever designed and built. The car has an interesting story and I'm happy to relate that story here. Don informed me he built the 4-wheel independent suspension No. 99 offset midget roadster in1972 and used an Offy engine provided by Howard Linne, a farm implement dealer in Mendota, IL. He was the 1961 USAC National Midget car owner champion whose midgets won about 70 USAC main events over the years. Linne used car numbers in the 90s (93, 96, 97, 98 and 99). He employed top drivers of the era to drive his fleet of midgets. They included Parnelli Jones, A. J. Foyt, Tony & Gary Bettenhausen, Bill Vukovich, Billy Engelhart, George Snider and others. Midgets then and now used solid front and rear axles. Don told me the course of Indianapolis car racing could have been changed if midget and sprint car drivers in the USA had raced fully independent suspension cars such as his new No. 99 roadster midget instead of solid axle cars. Foreign drivers with independent suspension formula car racing experience overseas became the drivers of choice for car owners. The vast majority of American drivers, such as USAC open-wheel racer Jeff Gordon, found doors to Indy 500 rides closed to them. They had to go to NASCAR stock car ranks to advance their racing careers and finances. Don's 4-wheel independent suspension midget could have given American drivers the necessary experience to succeed in the independent suspension Indy cars of the era.
It seems that midget owners did not want their current cars made obsolete overnight by the new technological innovation built by Edmunds. Much the same happened with the STP turbine engine powered cars entered in the 500 by innovator Andy Granatelli. So that little No. 99 Edmunds independent suspension midget could have changed the course of Indy car racing if it had been allowed by USAC to compete. Imagine successful American sprint car and midget drivers moving right into Indy Car racing and filling Indy Car fields. Fans today could be watch their favorite local open wheel drivers progress from local or regional short tracks to the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing—the Indianapolis 500 and the full Indy Car circuit. One reason why the popularity of Indy Car racing has declined over the last two decades is the fact that Americans fans, for the most part, do not identify with the significant influx of foreign drivers. Solid axles front and rear, still used by sprint cars and midgets, is a concept first used in the 1890s. Don still has his original front suspension drawings and measurements for his radical roadster midget. His vision if implemented in the 1970s would have changed American racing as we know it today.
Don tested his brand new No. 99 roadster midget with him driving it at Madera Raceway near Fresno and Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino and was satisfied with its potential. He entered the car in the November 25, 1973 USAC 100-lap race on the Phoenix, AZ paved mile. Linne entered the car because Don did not want to race against his own customers. Linne hired USAC driver and Indy 500 veteran Lee Kunzman, from Iowa, to drive it in its maiden outing. Lee set fastest qualifying time at 31.43, a then new track record, and was almost a full second faster than the rest of the field. The Offenhauser engine was not one of Linne's usual “killer” Offies, but was a 110 cu. in. Offy sent west for an antique midget—the Surdo Offy—that Don planned to restore. Other midget teams present were upset about the new roadster midget to put it mildly. One entrant filed an official protest saying the fairing behind the front bumper was a wing. USAC officials conferred and told Don his new car could not race unless he cut off the front fairing. Not willing to snip off the fairing and unsure of the reliability of the old Offy engine, he decided to load up his car and go home, content with the new one-lap NTR. A few days later Don received a letter from USAC informing him that the protest had been upheld. The USAC letter was signed by Shim Malone, USAC Midget Supervisor. He was present in Phoenix and had taken the protest back to USAC HQ in Indianapolis. His letter to entrant/protester Gary Irvin, of West Lafayette, IN, and parties involved, including Linne and Edmunds was dated November 29, 1973. It affirmed Irvin's protest and refunded his $25 protest fee. Malone's letter made reference to consulting with Frankie Del Roy, USAC's Technical Director, and stated that Del Roy ruled the No. 99 Linne roadster midget “had an air deflection device on the nose of the car”. He cited USAC rule 4c on page 127 to ban the car “until the necessary changes have been made.” Less than five years later both Malone and Del Roy were killed in an airplane crash that killed Stan Worley, Don Peabody and other key USAC officials of the time as they returned to Indianapolis from a USAC champ car race in Trenton, N.J.
That USAC letter in effect banned the innovative Edmunds midget roadster from USAC competition. The next time Don's midget roadster ran, Linne took it to the Indy Raceway Park .686-mile track in Clermont, Indiana in 1974 with Steve Chassey the driver. Steve told Don recently that he was”flying in hot laps” and faster than other cars. Steve pulled into the pits and Linne told him he was not going to qualify the car because he had just sold the car to some Aussies. Don had not considered the car being for sale and was shocked and upset when Linne, Don's best dealer for sale of his race cars, said he got top dollar for the car. Don felt that Linne had caved in to pressure from some USAC midget owners who did not want to race against the superior midget. Don said he used mostly Ted Halibrand Engineering and Gordon Schroeder (So Cal firms) mechanical parts to keep costs down. He told me his four-wheel independent suspension midget would cost only about $750 more than a standard four-bar car of the time. Back at his shop in Anaheim, Don was not happy when the Aussies showed up at his shop with the midget roadster that he built to get the car ready for shipment to Australia. They said it would be cheaper to ship disassembled rather than as a complete car. The began disassembling the midget roadster, including the suspension. They did not take measurements and when Don asked them if they were taking measurements to enable them to reassemble the car he received a negative reply. He just said the hell with it and figured the car was gone anyhow. The new owners reassembled the midget roadster and attempted to race it on dirt in Australia. They sold it to George and Joe Tatnell. Joe received word that the “different” midget was banned in Australia. The Tatnells “took the car home and stuck it in a barn” where it remained in storage for about 35 years gathering dust. Edmunds, who wanted the car back, was not aware of any of this information at the time and always wondered what had become of his favorite car. He heard rumors that it had been cut up or stripped for parts.
About five years ago Don contacted George Tatnell's son Brooke, a part-time World of Outlaws sprint car driver in the USA, and asked about the roadster midget. Brooke said it's in my dad's shop and offered to send some photos of it. Photos arrived and Don was overjoyed to see that the dusty car looked complete. He contacted George to see if he would sell the car. He answered maybe, so Don made a strong financial offer though he was unsure how much was there. Don's son Dan was in Australia on business and visited George and Joe Tatnell and took photos of the roadster, which he said was pretty complete. Don was unaware that George was very ill and he passed away in May, 2007. Don did not pursue the matter and let Brooke know that if the family ever wanted to sell the midget roadster he would buy it. Earlier this year Brooke phoned Don to say he could buy it and a deal was made. Aussie Gordon Benny facilitated getting the car shipped back to the USA this year. The LofA showing on October 23 was its first general viewing for race car aficionados. The Offy engine was without a crankshaft so the car could not be run on the Perris track that evening with other vintage midgets. Don towed the car home to his spacious 2,000 sq. ft. shop in SW Oregon on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Don owned 90 acres and recently sold 79 acres to a neighbor. His 11 acre hilltop property has a fantastic view of the ocean and Gold Beach. Don keeps busy these days in his shop building scale model race cars. He started in 1980 building Miller 91 and 122 front drives and rear drives 7.476 to 1 scale. Then he just started building variations of rail frame sprints, a few track roadsters and some quarter scale models of his 4-bar midgets. He said his most difficult model was the 1932 “catfish” car with its compound curves. Photos of Don and his cars and his biography may be seen on his web site—www.donedmunds.com.
ALL POINTS BULLETIN—TNGP MIDGET TOP FIVE DRIVERS: Toyota Speedway @ Irwindale and Doug Stokes have put out a call for all top five feature finishers in the prior 69 Turkey Night Grand Prix races to contact Doug ASAP at his cell phone (626) 391-3772. He is planning for each top five finishers and a guest to be given free parking and grandstand passes so they can be present for the 70th running of the prestigious midget racing classic that began in 1934. The 2010 date is Thursday, November 25 in Irwindale. A special seating section in the main grandstand and introductions for all past top five TNGP drivers will be highlighted this year so the pioneers of the event can be recognized and honored for their TNGP achievement. Group photos of the top five drivers will be taken and sent to racing publications.
I reviewed the list of top five TNGP finishers from 1934 through 2009 to determine how many of the drivers are still alive. I came up with 92 drivers alive today and some I do not know their current status. Those drivers are L. Corbin, T. Sellberg, B. Mehner, A. Henderson, D. Strickland, Sr, L. Scott, G. Irvin and S. Troxell. Many of the more recent top five finishers, such as Leffler, Hendrix, Hines, Coons, Darland, East, Wise, Murgoitio, Clauson, Santos, D. Hamilton, K and T Swanson, Kaplan and Roberts among others will be in uniform and driving again this year. They hope to have their names placed on the Aggie Trophy. Last names of invited prior top five TNGP finishers include: Foyt, P. Jones, Kenyon, McGreevy, Wente, G. Bettenhausen, Walkup, Andretti, Butcher, Vukovich, Jr., Benson, Parsons, Goudy, Bigelow, Engelhart, Carter, Simon, McKnight, Astone, C. Gurney, Cumberworth, Weeks, Snider, Cook, Jr., Patton, B. Jones, McSpadden, Rutherford, Tripp, Anderson, Rahe, Gregg, 8-time winner R. Shuman, Lotshaw, Schrader, B. East, Heywood, White, Renshaw, Olson, Nichols, Groff, Br. Kaeding, Pankratz, Mockler, Flock, Hood, Bringetto, Haugh, Streicher, J. Gordon, P. J. Jones, Hewitt, Ito, Sills, Elliott, Reeves, Cofer, Drake, Hermansader, Boat, Hines, Griffin, Hendrix, Day, Keene, Leffler, Coons, Darland, Kahne, T. Stewart, Klepper, Steele, Lewis, Yeley, Fike, Bobby East, Paden, Beach, Rodela, Wease, the Swanson brothers, Wise, Nicholas, Murgoitio, Clauson, Santos, D. Hamilton, Hagen, Kaplan, and L. Roberts. Anyone who reads this APB please let the named TNGP top five drivers know their presence is requested November 25 at the track. RSVP to Stokes at (626) 391-3772 to enable him to arrange for your credentials.
