Frank Lockhart (racing driver)
Frank Lockhart | |||||||
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Champ Car career | |||||||
24 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 2nd (1926, 1927) | ||||||
First race | 1926 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
Last race | 1927 75-mile Race (Rockingham Park) | ||||||
First win | 1926 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
Last win | 1927 75-mile Race (Rockingham Park) | ||||||
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Frank Stallworth Lockhart (March 5, 1903
Driving career
Lockhart was raised in Southern California. He had a strong engineering and motor building ability that he used to build custom cars throughout his career.[5]
Lockhart began his career in Frontenac-prepared Fords (Fronty Fords) at dirt track events, where he showed remarkable speed against the dominating Duesenbergs and Millers for two seasons.[6]
1926
Lockhart's big break came when he was signed as a
Lockhart bought the car. He later bought a second Miller car, and he set track records almost everywhere he went. He won four more AAA championship races in 1926, and finished second in the standings.[4][5]
1927
Lockhart's car was the first car equipped with an intercooler. The intercooler added 8 mph (13 km/h) to his speed at his first race at Culver City in March with Lockhart finishing fourth after starting from the pole position.
Lockhart qualified on the pole for the 1927 Indianapolis 500 in his Perfect Circle Miller. He led the opening 81 laps, and a full 107 before his car broke a connecting rod, setting an opening lap-leader record that stood for 64 years. He won four AAA championship races in 1927, and repeated the vice-championship.[4][5]
Championship car career summary
In his racing career Lockhart set the all-time qualifying speed record at the Atlantic City Speedway, a record first exceeded at Indianapolis in 1960.
He competed in 22
Land speed record and death
On April 11, 1927,
Backed by
Awards and honors
Lockhart has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
- Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1965)[14]
- National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1990)[15]
- Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1999)[16]
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
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References
- ^ "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003". FamilySearch.
- ^ "Florida Deaths, 1877-1939". FamilySearch.
- ^ a b Morgan-Wu, Sarah; O'Keefe, James (2012). "Introduction". Frank Lockhart: American Speed King. Racemaker Press, American Racing History Series. pp. ix.
- ^ a b c d "Frank Lockhart". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Biography at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, Retrieved March 15, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mike Twite, "Frank Lockhart" in Tom Northey, ed., World of Automobiles (London: Orbis Publishing Ltd, 1974), Volume 11, p.1210
- ^ Classic Cars in Profile (Doubleday, 1968) p. 12
- ^ a b Tom Northey, "Land Speed Record", op. cit., Volume 10, p.1164.
- ^ David Burgess Wise, "Stutz", op. cit., Volume 19, p.2230.
- ^ Sarah Morgan-Wu & James O'Keefe, Frank Lockhart American Speed King
- ^ Bradley Price. "83 Years ago Today: Frank Lockhart loses his life in the Stutz Black Hawk Special (Automobiliac, April 24, 2011)". Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ Dieselpunks. "Stutz Blackhawk Special (Dieselpunks.org, December 10, 2010)". Retrieved 2011-12-15.
- British Pathé News. 7 May 1928.
- ^ "Frank Lockhart". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "Frank Lockhart". www.sprintcarhof.com. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ "Frank Lockhart". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "Frank Lockhart Indianapolis 500 stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-30.