- Articles on Barney Oldfield
- Barney Oldfield Scrapbook Overview
- Oldfield 1906
- Oldfield Suicide Attempt
- Barney Oldfield and Lincoln Beachey
- Barney Oldfield Autobiography - Saturday Evening Post
- Barney Oldfield's 1910 Land Speed Record
- The Vanderbilt Cup
- Oldfield's Late Career
- Barney Oldfield and the Indy 500
- Oldfield - Petersen Collection
- Various Oldfield Races & Items
- Tom Cooper
- Articles on Early Track Racing
- Sigur Whitaker Articles
- Atlanta Speedway
- Miscellaneous Track Races
- 1906 Benefit Race
- Oval Vs. Road Racing
- 24 Hours of Indianapolis
- 24 Hours of Brighton Beach
- AAA Articles
- Driver Profiles
- Ken Parrotte Research
- William Borque
- Yesteryear at the Uniontown Speedway
- Joan Cuneo by Elsa Nystrom
- Automobile Advertising
- Louis Chevrolet
- The First Mile-A-Minute Track Lap
- Non-Championship Oval Track Races - 1905
- The Lost Championship of 1905
- 1908 Track Racing
- Astor Cup - 1916
- Playa Del Rey Board Track
- 40's - 60's Feature Articles
- Early Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- IMS Construction
- Brickyard Personalities
- Good Roads Movement
- Early Indianapolis Auto Industry
- Joe Dawson
- Carl Graham Fisher
- Fisher Automobile Company Ads
- Allison, Newby and Wheeler
- Prest-O-Lite
- Ernie Moross
- 1909 Balloon Race
- Indianapolis Motorcycle Races - 1909
- First Auto Races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - August 1909
- Failed 1909 Air Show
- Becoming the Brickyard
- December 1909 Time Trials
- IMS Planning - 1910
- March 1910 Indianapolis Auto Show
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 1910
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Summer 1910
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Aviation Show - June 1910
- July 1910 Race Meet
- Indianapolis Race Teams - Summer 1910
- September 1910 Race Meet
- Indianapolis Balloon Races - 1910
- First Indianapolis 500 - 1911
- 1913 Indianapolis 500
- Packard Speed Record
- Brooklands
- Dario Resta
- Indianapolis Harvest Classic
- Wheeler-Schebler Trophy
- Early Road Racing
- American Grand Prize
- Savannah
- Glidden Tour
- Pioneers
- Hill Climb Races
- Fairmount Park
- Coppa Florio
- Daytona - Ormond Speed Trials
- Beach Racing
- Horseless Age 1905
- James Gordon Bennett Cup
- Vanderbilt Cup
- Lowell Road Race
- The French Grand Prix
- 1908 - New York to Paris
- Cuban Road Race
- Cobe Trophy
- Obscure Early American Road Races
- The Cactus Derby
- Briarcliff, NY Road Race
- Isle of Man
- David Bruce-Brown Obituary
- A Woman's Ride In A Racing Car
- Mark Dill's Articles
Cummins, Part 2
Article Categories
Relevant Content
- Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker
- Louis Schwitzer
- Empire Motor Car Company
- The Belond Special
- Indy 500 Pace Car Drivers
- Auburn Museums
- Pace Car Crash!
- ASPAR
- The Blue Crowns
- The First "500" Woman Driver
- More Sauerkraut
- You Ruined my Sauerkraut!
- "The British at Indianapolis" Book Review
- The Twin Cities Motor Speedway
- The Miami 12 Engine
- Thunder At Sunrise - Book Review
- Eddie Rickenbacker Paves the Speedway
- Montauk
- Rickenbacker's Pace Car
- Rickenbacker Buys IMS
- Cocolobo Cay Club
- Whitaker on Race Against Time and Death
- The Brickyard Crossing
- The Winningest Driver
- Ferrari
- Carl Fiisher Car Promotions
- Carl Fisher and His Elephants
- Carl Fisher, Master Promoter
- Sigur Whitaker Reviews "Master Driver of the World"
- Bessie Lee Paoli
- 1955 - Year of Tragedy
- Umbrella Mike
- Lucy O'Reilly Schell
- A Jeopardy - Type Question (Paula Murphy)
- The Astor Cup Story
- The Great Zoline Caper
- Sigur Whitaker on Prest-O-Lite
- IMS Radio History
- IMS Pagoda History
- Sigur Whitaker on the Golden Submarine
- The Fulford-Miami Speedway
- Book Review--Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America's Legendary Speed King by William F. Nolan
- Cummins Special
- The Great Zoline Caper
- Book Review: Mark Donohue, Technical Excellence at Speed
- Why a balloon is painted on the side of a restroom at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Indy Autonomous Challenge
- Book Review: Victory Road: The Ride of My Life by Helio Castroneves
- Polo at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Tradition of the Indianapolis 500 winner drinking milk
- Kissing the Bricks Tradition
- Maude Yagle--Ahead of Her Time
- Speedway, Indiana
- Book Review: The Legend of the First Super Speedway
- The Great Speedway Heist (Almost)
- He Drives A Duesenberg
- The Miami Aquarium Inbox
- Hitting on all cylinders Inbox
- I've Got Your Back
- Book Review: Beast, by Jade Gurss
- The Year Team Penske Did Not Make the Indianapolis 500
- The Long Downward Spiral
- Book Review: Rick Mears Thanks. The Story of Rick Mears and the Mears Gang by Gordon Kirby
- Orville Redenbacher and Tony Hulman
- 1941 fire in Gasoline Alley
- The Newby Oval
- Tony Hulman and the formation of USAC
- How the Indianapolis Motor Speedway became "The Brickyard"
- Book Review: The Legend of the First Super Speedway, the Birth of American Auto Racing by Mark Dill
- Creating a SAFER barrier
- Celebrating 50 years as Team Penske
- Carl Fisher's Turkey Run
- Duesenberg Sets Endurance Test Record
- When Mark Met Roger
- Book Review: Al Unser, Jr., A Checkered Past as told to Jade Gurss
- The Motorcycle Ride
- Wilbur Shaw
- The Duesenberg Days
Search
Featured Article
Image of The Week
By Sigur Whitaker.
After a thirteen-year absence, Cummins Engine Co. returned to the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 with the “Green Hornet.” The racer was a modified Kurtis Kraft chassis powered by a supercharged 401 cubic inch diesel-powered engine based on the Cummins JBS 600 truck engine. The engine, which produced 320 horsepower, had four valves per cylinder and used an aluminum crankcase, cylinder block and head. The car had disc brakes, a first at Indy. The car used an early design of what would become Cummins PT (pressure-timed) fuel injection system.
Because of its green color, its driver, Jimmy Johnson named it the “Green Hornet.” On May 27th, Johnson was running some practice laps after the car was trucked from the Cummins factory in Columbus, Indiana. On the first lap, the racer hit an estimated 150 mph on the main straightaway. Then, the head gasket blew, and the car had smoke pouring from the engine as it pulled into the pits. The next day, the racer qualified last on the starting grid with a speed of 129.208 mph. The pole sitter was Walt Faulkner with a qualifying speed of 134.343 mph. The field was the fastest starting lineup in the Speedway’s history.
Cheered on by Cummins employees estimated between 500 and 1,000, the car’s Indianapolis 500 run ended on lap 52 when the supercharger shaft broke. At the time, the car was running three laps behind the leader with an average speed of around 120 mph. While the car was out of the race, Cummins officials were pleased with the performance of the engine. Johnny Parsons won the rain shortened race after 345 miles.
The “Green Dragon” was repaired and set six international diesel speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September. The records were for one kilometer (163.82 mph), one mile (164.23 mph), 5 kilometers (164.25 mph), five miles (161.92 mph), 10 kilometers (147.3 mph) and 10 miles (148.14 mph).
In 1951, Cummins Engine decided to make another attempt at the Indianapolis 500 in 1952. The rules allowed for a diesel engine as large as 6.6 liters as compared with a three-liter limit for supercharged gasoline engines. Working with Frank Kurtis of Kurtis Kraft, the chassis of the # 28 car was low-slung. Cummins installed an engine based upon the one used in the “Green Hornet.” By laying the engine nearly on its side, the profile of the car was very low with the cowling being about 23 inches above ground.
Unlike previous attempts at the Speedway, early testing indicated this car was very fast. The driver, Freddie Agabashian, was careful not to reveal the car’s true potential as Cummins was afraid that the car could be banned if its true capabilities were known. Fifteen minutes before the end of qualifying on Pole Day, Agabashian took the car out and set a one-lap record at 139.104 mph and a four-lap record of 138.010 mph for the pole. During the qualifying effort, Agabashian nearly shredded the right-front tire tread. His qualifying speed was short lived, as two cars later qualified with faster speeds (Bill Vukovich at 138.21 mph and Chet Miller at 139.03 mph).
Race day was disappointing. The car had a problem with dirt and tire debris clogging the charger intake. The turbocharger failed on lap 71. Agabashian was in fifth place at the time he dropped out. The car finished in 27th place. After the Indianapolis 500, the rules were changed. The Cummins Diesel Special was the last diesel-engine car to compete in the Indianapolis 500.
As part of the celebration of Cummins’ 100th anniversary in 2019 and a nod to its role in the Indianapolis 500, the five Cummins racers (1931, 1935, 1950 and 1952) were part of the pre-race parade.
If you know of someone who would enjoy this article, please forward it to them. If you would like to be added to Sigur's subscriber list, please let her know at sigurwhitakerbooks881@gmail.com.