Unusual Racing Cars, From the
Brilliant to the Bizarre
From the
professional race cars to the local dirt tracks, there are many
unusual and bizarre racing cars out there. The brilliant cars are
the Nascar ones with all of the safety features installed on them.
No matter how terrible an accident looks, the driver is able to get
out and walk away with barely a scratch on him. Nascar has added
many safety features over the last several years that even when a
car flies through the air, rolls several times, and catches on fire,
the driver is still safe. These cars may not be too bizarre to look
at, but if I had my choice of race car to drive, it would be a
Nascar one.
There are several strange and unusual Indy cars that have raced over
the years. One such car was the Fageol Twin Coach Special. Back in
1946 the Indy people decided to feature two engines on one car. Each
engine was on either end of the car to give power to two wheels at a
time. This gave the car four-wheel drive. Driven by Paul Russo, it
crashed early and gave Russo a broken leg. This was the only time
the car was used in Indy.
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A unique Indy
car that shows up in 1948 was the Pat Clancy Special. This car
actually had six wheels instead of only four. Four of the wheels
were in the back making it a four-wheel drive, and the other two in
the front of the car reduced the drag. This car was actually driven
in the Indy 500 race and was the only car of its kind to finish that
race.
An amazing car that raced in the 1964 Indy 500 race was the MG
Liquid Suspension Special. This car used a liquid suspension system.
There was some controversy surrounding this type of car with rumors
of sabotage. This car still ran the Indy races until 1969 in
different kinds of disguises.
A very bizarre-looking car that was driving in the 1964 race was the
Hurst Floor Shifter. Bobby Johns crashed in it, but this car's
appearance will not be forgotten. The driver actually sat very
exposed in a sidecar while the engine was in the main part of the
car. So the driver actually drove the car from the sidecar which is
hard to believe. The safety was tested and passed, however this car
was never seen again.
When going far back in time, the 1911 Indy 500 had a lot of unusual
cars. The Marmon Wasp car had won that race. It was called the Wasp
because of the yellow and black colors of the car. This car is the
very first car to actually use a rear-view mirror. This was the
first time for any car and not just race cars. Back then, the driver
actually rode with a riding mechanic, and a man named Harroun drove
this car without a mechanic because of the mirror. |