Frank Lockhart

By Sigur Whitaker.
 
Frank Lockhart grew up in southern California where he raced on dirt tracks. He held all dirt track records from one mile at the Bakersfield dirt track at 96 mph to twenty-five miles. In 1926, he arrived at the Speedway as the relief driver for Miller team which had fourteen cars in the race. After Bennett Hill had driven several laps in the car, Lockhart got in and turned some laps at 108 mph. After Peter Kreis had become ill, Lockhart became the driver for Kreis’ Miller Special. During qualifications, Lockhart showed off his driving skills,  turning a lap of 115.488 mph, setting a new record at IMS. He failed to qualify for the race on his first attempt due to tire trouble. His second attempt also failed. On the third and final attempt, he qualified at 95.78 mph, putting him on the seventh row.
 
On Memorial Day, he quickly passed numerous cars and by the 50th mile, he was in third place. At 100 miles, he had improved his position to second place and had gained first place at 150 miles. His one and only pitstop at 250 miles caused him momentarily to lose the lead. After a brief duel with Harry Hartz, he regained the lead and was ahead by two laps at 300 miles. When the Indianapolis 500 was called at 400 miles because of rain, Lockhart was five miles ahead of his nearest competitor, Harry Hartz.
 
This win was not a fluke. Lockhart went on a tear and demonstrated his driving expertise. He followed the Indianapolis 500 win with wins at Charlotte (25- 50- and 150-miles) and a 250-mile race at Altoona, Pennsylvania. He finished second in the AAA driving championship.
 
He returned to Indianapolis in 1927 and won the pole with an average speed for four laps of 120.20 mph. His attempt to be a repeat winner ended when he was forced out on the 121st lap by a broken wheel for an 18th place finish. Because he led 110 laps, he won the lion’s share of the lap prize money. Despite this disappointment, his winning streak continued. He won the 200-mile race at Altoona, 25- and 50-miles races at Charlotte, and the 65- and 75-mile races at Salem, New Hampshire. Once again, he finished second in the driving championship. Newspapers reported that he held every American record from one mile to 100 miles on circular courses as well as the world’s straightaway record for 91 1/2 cubic inch displacement motor at the Dry Lake in California in 1927 at 164.28 mph.
 
Lockhart was a gifted mechanic. About a year before going to Daytona Beach, he began thinking about building a car which could shatter the world’s record for a straightway run. He approached the Stutz Motor Car Company with his ideas. Consulting with technical engineers, he designed a car he believed could beat the record of 203.79 mph set by Major H. O. D. Seagrave on March 29, 1927, at Daytona Beach.
 
On February 22, 1928, he attempted to break the world record at Daytona Beach. Shortly before dusk, he made his attempt and was believed to have been going 230 mph when his car suddenly skidded and went into the ocean. He suffered a wrenched arm and a cut hand. From his hospital bed, Lockhart recounted that he had gone from sunshine into pouring rain and he could not see where he was going.
 
On April 22, 1928, Ray Keech set a new record on the sands of Daytona Beach at 207.55 mph. Lockhart was determined to win the title despite Fred Moskovics, president of the Stutz Motor Car Company trying to persuade him not to. On April 24, he took his modified Stutz Bearcat with a 16 cylinder, 285 horsepower engine and tried four times to set a new world’s record. Due to bad weather, his speed was only 191 mph. The next day, he took his modified Stutz Bearcat and made three preliminary runs. His manager, William Sturm, did not believe he was going to try to set a new record on that day because of the weather conditions. The beach was in the worst condition it had been in the past week with the wind leaving ridges in the sand. He was going about 200 mph on his attempt and was about 500 yards from the official start when his right rear tire burst. Suddenly, the car went out of control. It turned sideways and became airborne, somersaulting twice. Lockhart was thrown clear of the crash and was still breathing when spectators reached him. He was loaded into an ambulance but did not survive the trip to the hospital.
 
After his death, Moscovics said, “In my opinion, he was the greatest driver of all time.”

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