Edward Leo Kuzma (September 18, 1911 – October 12, 1996) was an American

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

builder. He was the founder of the racing car constructor

Kuzma Kuzma may refer to: Locations *Kuzma, Kuzma, a settlement in the Municipality of Kuzma, Slovenia *Municipality of Kuzma, a municipality in Slovenia People *Kuzma, a Slavic given name derived from Cosmas **Kuzma Minin, Russian merchant and hero of ...

Biography

Kuzma was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, where he was raised on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. He moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he established an automobile repair shop. In the 1930s, Kuzma had seen midget race cars at the

Jantzen Beach Amusement Park Jantzen Beach Amusement Park was a popular amusement park from 1928 to 1970 in Portland, Oregon, on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River. ''"The Coney Island of the West"'' opened on May 26, 1928 as the largest amusement park in the ...

, and had built and raced his own car. A second car was fitted with a four-cylinder

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarly ...

engine, making it faster than other local competitors. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After he was discharged from the service, sold his car and moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In California he continued to build midget race cars. He was hired by

J. C. Agajanian Joshua C. James "Aggie" Agajanian (June 16, 1913May 5, 1984) was an influential Armenian-American figure in American motorsports history. He was a promoter and race car owner. Early life Agajanian was born in San Pedro, Los Angeles, Californ ...

to build the Agajanian Special, which won the 1952

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

, driven by Troy Ruttman. A. J. Foyt won the Indianapolis 500 twice driving Kuzma's cars, and Mario Andretti won in one of his cars in 1969. Kuzma also rebuilt race cars. In 1968, he bought a

along with his wife Edna. Kuzma died in October 1996 of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in Tigard, Oregon, at the age of 85. In 2003, he was posthumously honored in the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Ind ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzma, Eddie 1911 births 1996 deaths Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Deaths from kidney failure Auto racing people International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees People from Tigard, Oregon