Al Blixt Auto Racing History

Welcome

Al (Ace) Blixt was involved in auto racing from the 1920's to the 1950's as a driver, car owner, photographer, writer and racing official. 

As a reporter, photographer and columnist for the Illustrated Speedway News, he covered races throughout the region, including the Indianapolis 500.  This site is devoted to his memory and to the history of racing in his era.  Read on to learn more about Al (Ace) Blixt.
Photo Credit: George Vargo. 

All written content and photos are copyright Al Blixt with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.  Contents are not for reproduction, publication or sale. Photos on this site are low resolution scans. You are welcome to download web images for personal use only.    High resolution prints are available for purchase.  Please email me for more information.

Qualifying at Indy in 1967

In May of 1967 I had just graduated from the University of Michigan and to celebrate I went down for a weekend of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.  I recently got out the negatives from that trip and I want to share some of the memories I have with you. Here is the car of Bob Harkey, one of the many that would not qualify for the 1967 race.  The photo, however conveys the atmosphere.  Crowds were huge in those days as qualifying took place over two weekends. For the story and some interesing images, read on.

Recommended: The Winners Book and CD by Jim O'Keefe

Jim O'Keefe is a racing historian in Boston with whom I have been corresponding for several years. He has been a great help in my research on early Detroit racing. After many, many years of exhaustive research he has just published "The Winners Book: A Comprehensive Listing of Motor Racing Events 1895 - 2009" an exceptionally useful and attractive resource for anyone who likes statistics about auto racing.

With 22,000 entries covering racing in the world from 1895 to 2009, it has everything from Formula 1 to all the US records for AAA, USAC, CART, IRL and NASCAR championship winners.  Not only are there lots of statistics but there are many beautifully reproduced historic photos of race cars and drivers of all types.  Among the classic images are Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg in 1920, Rex Mays in 1941 and Mario Andretti in 1969. 

If you are really into statistics you will want to add the companion searchable CD called the O'Keefe Winners Database.  The  allows the user to create both complex and simple digital searches of the approximately 250,000 pieces of data which make up The Winners Book. The year 2010 of racing events was added to this digital version.

This book and the CD are available at www.racemaker.com

Racing History Lives at Winchester Speedway

 

 

  Winchester Speedway Old Timers Weekend is an annual event that brings together great vintage race cars and people who love them. This post is devoted to showcasing some of the cars and stories from the 2010 event. Shown here are the famous Spider Webb #2 sprint car built by Hall of Fame owner Johnny Vance, Sr. and the 1934 #1 McDowell Spl. owned by Bob and Judy Moore. For more photos and information about these and other classic race cars, read on.

V8-60: The Little Engine That Could

The Ford V8-60 engine holds a special place in the history midget auto racing. Known as the "poor man's offy', the V8-60 offered a reliable power plant for cash-strapped young men with a passion to race. Ironically, the small size that made it ideal for midgets doomed the V8-60 as a passenger car engine and it was discontinued after only a few years.  Still, V8-60s were in competition from 1937 until the 1950's. Read on to learn more about this "little engine that could".

Links of Interest

While I am working on my next feature posts, I thought I would share with you some of the other sites on the web related to auto racing history. I will update it from time to time and welcome your suggestions. Here are some links to sites of interest to racing history fans:

Winchester Speedway - Then and Now Part 1: 1936-38

This is the first of three posts covering 70 years of history at the Winchester Speedway. The Winchester half-mile is the oldest continuously operating auto race track in the United States other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track was already 20 years old when my dad came to cover the "big cars" there in 1936. For a look at what we now call sprint cars running on July 5, 1936 and the story of legendary promoter Frank Funk read on. (Photo by Al (Ace) Blixt)

I Remember Vicente

  Of all my father's auto racing friends, none made  a bigger impression on me growing up than Dr. Vicente Alvarez.  To the world, his contribution to racing was enormous as a photographer, journalist, historian and collector.  For me personally, it is the memory of his warmth, grace and generous personality that abides.  To hear more about this remarkable human being, read on.

Frank Lockhart - "The greatest of them all."

Frank Lockhart, the most famous race driver of his time, died eighty years ago today, April 25, 1928, on the sands of Daytona Beach trying to set a new land speed record.  For my dad and his generation, Lockhart was the greatest driver of all time.  Race fans know the story of his victory as a rookie at the Indianapolis 500 and his short but phenomenal reign as the most feared driver on the big car circuit during the Roaring 20's.  Most have seen the photo of the sleek Stutz Black Hawk that  took his life. What most people don't know is Lockhart's Michigan connection and the story of how my father came to admire him so much.  To hear that story, read on. (vintage official Indy photo from the Al Blixt Collection)

The Mystery of Bigelow Field

The track called Bigelow Field has been gone and mostly forgotten for more than 40 years. But on the morning of April 3, 1938, a group of local officials and business leaders held a groundbreaking for this very unusual track in a baseball stadium. For 25 years it hosted some of the greatest names in racing including Art Hartsfeld, Sam Hanks, Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rourke, Ronnie Householder, Johnny Wohlfiel, Henry Banks and Duane Carter.

Al (Ace) Blixt was a significant part of the Bigelow Field story for a little while in one of the strangest, and (for me) mysterious episodes of his career.  For more about Bigelow and the ill-fated 1940 season, read on. (photo by Ace)

Starter Bill Mitchell - Racing Giant

Bill Mitchell was known as the "Two Ton Starter" for nearly 30 years in the Midwest.  At Detroit's Motor City Speedway and a host of other tracks, he was the man in charge. He always made sure that the "show" ran on time and that drivers obeyed his instructions. He was big and tough. Nobody fooled with him.  Yet, there was another side to Big Bill that those who knew him loved. As far back as I could remember, he was my "Uncle Bill".   After the races and on weekends, members of the racing fraternity partied together.  Many nights when I was three or four, I recall going to "Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty's" house with my parents.  It was somewhere in the city of Detroit. All the coats were piled on the bed in the front bedroom near the street. I was snuggled among them as the party went on into the night, while the music of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and the other artists of the day provided my lullaby.  This man was always very kind to me. He died when I was eight and I always wished I knew more about him . Read on to find out more about this very interesting man.  (Photo by Al Blixt, Sr. probably at Toledo, Ohio ca. 1940)