Re: [FWDLK] 58 DODGE D 500 SUPER OPTION, QUESTION.
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [FWDLK] 58 DODGE D 500 SUPER OPTION, QUESTION.



Hi Ron and all;
From Wikipedia for your reading pleasure:

Kiekhaefer decided to use car racing to promote his now profitable boat motor company. He entered 1954 Chrysler New Yorker club coupes in the AAA Milwaukee Mile and won all three races entered. Tony Bettenhausen and Frank Mundy drove. He then purchased large and powerful Chrysler 300s to use in NASCAR for the 1955 season. Kiekhaefer was a millionaire, so he could afford the expensive cars unlike the other teams. He bought the best equipment, and had a team, as well as transporters, unheard of in NASCAR at the time.

He brought his car with no driver to the first race at the Daytona Beach Road Course. Retired former champion Tim Flock had retired after the 1954 season, but was convinced to return by Kiekhaefer for $40,000 [1].

1955 Tim Flock NASCAR car

Tim Flock was the number one driver, entering 38 events, with 18 wins, 18 poles, and 32 Top-10 finishes on his way to the NASCAR championship. Kiekhaefer and Flock had a falling out early in the 1956 season.

Kiekhaefer had six drivers race for him during the 45 event season. The drivers had a combined 22 wins, 47 Top-10s, and 23 poles in their 64 races.

 1956

Buck Baker was number one driver for the team. Baker entered 44 events, with 14 wins, 12 poles, and 35 Top-10 finishes on his way to the team's second consecutive champsionship.

Speedy Thompson also drove for the team, entering 39 events, with 8 wins, 7 poles, and 28 Top-10 finishes on his way to third place in the points.

Kiekhaefer had nine drivers race for him in the 56 event season, taking first, second, third, and ninth in the final series points. The drivers combined for 30 wins, 25 poles, and 92 Top-10 finishes in their 126 races. Four drivers combined for 16 straight team wins between March 25 and June 3.

 1957

Kiekhaefer quit NASCAR in January 1957 after battling Bill France, over accusations of cheating by the other competitors (though no rules infractions were found under NASCAR's close scrutiny), NASCAR changed the rules to Kiekhaefer's disadvantage, and he didn't want a backlash to affect Mercury sales after fans booed the team.

However, being the ever-changing personality he was, he then purchased three 1957 Chrysler 300Cs with the intent of entering the road race segment of NASCAR which only existed in 1956 and early 1957. The first "Road America competition model" he purchased (a white 300C hardtop) was resold without modification but two further cars began preparation for the June race scheduled for the Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, near Mercury Marine's home plant in Fond du Lac. The race and the series were cancelled. The two cars, a black 300C hardtop and a special order Charcoal Gray 300C hardtop were reinstated for street use and became Carl's personal car and that of his Chief Engineer, Charles Strang, respectively.

 Other highlights/innovations/firsts

  • The team was the first to use dry paper air filters, which are now standard equipment in today's cars.
  • Set a record lap of 140 mph at the Daytona Beach Road Course.
  • First major national sponsor to NASCAR (excluding automotive-related companies) [2] in Mercury outboard motors.
  • First to do scientific testing of the oil in his race car motors to see what was affecting the performance of his motors via contamination.
  • First professional team. The cars were professionally painted and detailed. Team members wore uniforms. At a time when most drivers drove their cars to the track, Kiekhaefer used the Mercury Marine box or "van" style trucks with the race cars sticking out the back due to their length. Multiple photos support this. The floors of the trucks had jacks built into them to support the cars on their frames so they would not ride on their wheel and axle bearings during transport to and from races.
  • While not the first "superteam" in NASCAR history, the Mercury Marine team was legendary. The team raced five cars at most events during the 1956 season, and even fielded six cars at the 1956 Daytona Beach Road Course race.


Ray in Mena, AR.



On Dec 10, 2010, at 3:06 PM, Ron Swartley wrote:

Thanks Neil for the answer to my question on 57 D 501 Dodges. I checked the 57 Daytona race results and there was not even one Chrysler, Dodge or Plymouth in the race. Chrysler Corporation pulling out of racing after dominating the past years. They must have scared even the private owner of the mighty 300's and D-501 from competing. I think they would have done well if they would have competed. Chrysler products never had a real strong stick shift transmission. If I remember correctly, the Dodge 500's with stick shifts had to start out in second gear with only one shift into high. The few friends I had that had stick shift Dodges and Plymouth in 57 and 58 had a problem of busting up their right hand from hitting the dash every time they speed shifted into second gear.
I really feel the D 501 would have been a terror on the drag strip with a Chrysler 300 C torqueflite. I bet not one owner changed over to Torqueflite transmission in those D 501 Dodges!!!! Guess we will never know.
 
Watch the 57 Daytona Beach race on "you tube"----- click below  
 

*************************************************************

To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1




Home Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network


Copyright © The Forward Look Network. All rights reserved.

Opinions expressed in posts reflect the views of their respective authors.
This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.