Roadster (automobile) - Championship Race Cars

Championship Race Cars

The term roadster applies to front-engined AAA/USAC Championship Cars, associated with the Indianapolis 500. The Roadster engine and drive shaft are offset from the centerline of the car. This allows the driver to sit lower in the chassis thus facilitating a weight offset which is beneficial on oval tracks. A mechanic might ride beside the driver.

One story of why this type of racing car is referred to as a "roadster" is that a team was preparing a new car for the Indianapolis 500. They had it covered in a corner of their shop. If they were asked about their car they would try and obscure its importance by saying that it was just their (hot rod) "roadster". After the Indianapolis racer was made public, the "roadster" name was still attached to it.

Frank Kurtis built the first roadster to race the 1952 Indianapolis 500. It was driven by Bill Vukovich who led for most of the race until a steering failure eliminated him. The Kurtis team went on to win the 1953 and 1954 contests with the same car. A. J. Watson and Quinn Epperly were other notable Roadster constructors.

Roadsters had disappeared from competition by the end of the 1960s, after the introduction, and subsequent domination, of rear-engined machines. The last roadster to make the race was built and driven by Jim Hurtubise in the 1968 race and dropped out early. Hurtubise attempted to run the same car in 1969 but, while making his qualifying run at a very good speed, the engine failed on the last of the four laps. The car was entered many times after that but was never seriously considered fast enough to start. Some pavement midgets were built and raced into the early 1970s but never were dominant.