They called them Hot Rods and from 1947 to 1951, they thrilled fans by the thousands in Detroit and across the nation. What made these race cars so different and what caused them to disappear as quickly as they had come? Read on to find out. (Car #00 here is driven by "Speedy" Brooks.)
The term "Hot Rod" was new in 1946, but not the idea. Young men in America had been stripping down and souping up their cars since the 1920's. Most early hot rods were Ford Model T or Model A roadsters—cheap, plentiful, and lightweight, having no top and only a single seat. Standard procedure was to strip off all nonessential parts—fenders, running boards, ornaments, even the windshield—to achieve maximum weight reduction and aerodynamics. Ford flathead V-8 engines were the power plants of choice after their introduction in 1932. Mass-produced in the millions, they too were cheap and plentiful, and their design permitted relatively easy—and nearly limitless—performance enhancements.
World War II put an end to early hot rodding but not to the passion for do-it-yourself car building and racing. When the war ended, in 1945, hot rodding exploded into the public consciousness, becoming one of the strongest fads of new postwar America. After hostilities ended, a legion of young men returned to America with money in their pockets and a sense of freedom and excitement bred by their experiences in the war. Many had gained mechanical and metal working experience in the military. With a period of peace and the steadily increasing prosperity of the country as a backdrop, these young men had a "can-do" attitude and a desire to express themselves in ways that their time in the military had stifled. Many of these guys loved driving - and racing- their new hot rods on main street. Others took to the many dirt ovals in towns large and small across the country to try their skill.
Photo: Reader Steve Wolski tells us that #63 is Jack Goodwin. The car next to him is #T3, probably driven by Iggy Katona. Note the mag wheel and knock-off hubs. #17 not yet identified.
Hot Rod Racing probably began at Motor City Speedway in Detroit on May 29, 1949. As Don Radbruch tells it in his book Roaring Roadsters #2, "Promoter Andy Barto usually ran AAA midgets, but with many of the top drivers in Indianapolis for the Memorial Day weekend Barto faced a lack of cars. On short notice he scheduled the roadsters – in Detroit they were billed as 'Modifed Stock Cars'. The fans responded by turning out in record numbers contributing to a gate of over $8000”.
Admission was a dollar so we can assume the crowd numbered about 8000. While Motor City continued to run AAA midgets on Monday and Thursday nights and motorcylces on Saturday nights, Hot Rods began to run on many Sunday afternoons.
This famous Al Blixt photo appeared in the Illustrated Speedway News with an arrow pointing to the billboard and a caption that read, "The Pause the Refreshes". The date was April 16, 1950.
The driver, Gervaise (Gerv) Umek uses a strong right arm to keep his car from turning over on him while waiting for aid.
That's Gerv in the baseball cap looking over the damage. Gerv's name is variously spelled "Imek" and "Umek". Dick Wallen, in his book Roaring Roadsters, notes he was known as the "Mad Russian" and that he won a lot of races at Detroit's Partington's Pasture, another local track.
Iggy Katona (#22) leads the field at Motor City Speedway in 1950. Katona went on to become famous as a stock car driver. Other drivers in this picture, as identifed in programs, include: #55 Nick Roman, #6 Claire Lawicki and #13 Louis Schmidt. Schmidt was killed that year.
This is the accident that killed Louis Schmidt. This is one of many fatal moments that Al Blixt, Sr. photographed over the years. A program from the time identifies the driver of #10 simply as J. Henry.
Some of the best drivers are lined up for this heat race in 1950. On the pole in T-3 is Iggy Katona. Behind him is Hod Preston who won that first Hot Rod race in 1949. #33 is our old friend, Gerv Umek. In #15 is Al Miller who went on to have a long career as an Indy 500 driver. #17 unknown. The Cadillac-powered #66 is probably Cecil Hayes.
Here is legendary Jack Goodwin as a youngster just starting his illustrious driving career in 1950. Jack was one of the drivers who dominated in stocks and super-modifieds wherever he raced in Michigan and Ohio in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Jack, a great champion, is well and living in Florida.
After World War II, roadster racing became much more organized and at least three roadster groups were formed. These were the Michigan Racing Association, the Michigan Modified Stock Car Association and (another) Michigan Racing Association by Indiana and Michigan racers. This program from about 1950 shows that the Motor City Hot Rods were sanctioned by the MMSRA.
Hot Rod Genius
"The growing popularity of Hot Rod and Hardtop racing attests to the genius and skill of young America. The biggest share of the cars on the track were built and are being driven by young men. How good they are is shown by the fact that such drivers as Bill Dailey at Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah have achieved speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour over the measured mile. These young men have also souped up up standard passenger engines rated at 110 H.P. to nearly 300 H.P. Many new, unique and useful ideas have been developed by these same Hotrodders and auto manufacturers are now paying attention to racing that they have for quite a while. It might be said that America’s strength lies in the talents of these your men in peace or war." - Quote from Motor City Speedway race program, 1950.
Low cost was a major attraction for Hot Rod racers. By 1947, a new Offenhauser-powered midget race car (like the one shown here made by Johnnie Wohlfeil's engineering company) could easily cost $5,000 or more. That's the equivalent of about $43,000 in today's dollars. (By comparison, gas was 15 cents a gallon and the average annual salary was $2,950.) So, who could afford 2 years' wages to buy a race car? How much better to go to the local junk yard and pick up a '32 Ford and build your own for practically nothing. Most Hot Rods were powered by Ford V-8's but there were also cars powered by Chevrolet, Cadillac, Kaiser, DeSoto and Riley engines.
Here is another great Al Blixt action shot at Motor City about 1951. Car #1 is Bill McKensie. Hard to tell who the others are. The car that is turning over might be #22 Iggy Katona. Note the billboard for Hot Rod supplies.
So, what happened to Hot Rods? Allan Brown of the the Michigan Motor Sport Hall of Fame tells us, "The Hot Rods, known as Roadsters in other parts of the country, were popular just after WWII in Michigan. They ran at such tracks as Motor City, Owosso, Whiskey Ridge, Galesburg, Berlin, Crystal, Hastings, Ionia Fairgrounds, Jackson Fairgrounds, Jackson Motor Speedway, Partington's Pastures, and Saginaw Fairgrounds. I'm sure they ran at a number of other fairgrounds as well. By 1951, the Hot Rods were phased out and replaced by less expensive and easily accessible Jalopies. By 1953 there were at least 60 Michigan tracks running these low-cost race cars. Berlin (Grand Rapids) opened for weekly racing in 1951 and the Stock Cars that were the only class."
Cost was one factor but safety was another reason for the demise of the Hot Rods. Hard Tops or Jalopies were able to incorporate roll cages that were becoming mandatory. So, as quickly as they had appeared, Hot Rods were gone and the era of stock cars as the poor man's favorite kind of racing machine began.
While long gone from the nation's race tracks, Hot Rods are are still around today. You will find them at old car shows and at places like Detroit every August at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise. (This photo © Copyright 2005 Woodward Dream Cruise. All rights reserved. )
As John Warde said in writing about these cars, "Despite their emphasis on power and performance, Hot Rods were a social statement, having to do with self-reliance, ingenuity and ultimately independence. It is this added emotional resonance that separates hot rods from mere homebuilt racers, and gives them a deeper definition not addressed by dictionaries." Think about the image of James Dean or Harrison Ford in "American Graffitti". Rebels and their cars.
Once upon a time, before ESPN and corporate sponsorships, it was possible for an ordinary Joe to build and race a real open-wheel race car. That makes the brief but glorious Hot Rod era worth remembering.
Special thanks to the many folks who have contributed to this feature including those who have corresponded with me: Dale Fairfax who first asked about Hot Rods, Allan Brown, Rick Yocum, Art Braithwaite. Special thanks to racing historian Don Radbruch who sent me some invaluable information. Also thanks to writers like Greg Burch and those on the web sites linked above.
Thanks for writing about an important although short-lived period of American racing. Iggy Katona, one-time Hot Rod racer, started as a motorcycle racer before WW2, and was relatively old at 33 years to be racing Hot Rods in 1949. Iggy went on to a stellar career in ARCA stock cars, winning the championship 6 times, runner-up 5 times, and third in points 4 times. There is an excllent article about Iggy Katona at http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=142993&FS=OBITUARIES
Posted by: Kevin Triplett | January 30, 2007 at 01:17 PM