Frank Stallworth Lockhart (born April 8, 1903 at

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

– April 25, 1928 at

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

) was an

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automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

driver active in the 1920s, considered by many historians to be a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

in the sport on par with 1960s

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World Drivers' Champion

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

. During a "remarkable if all too short" career, Lockhart won numerous races on

dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

, board tracks, the

1926 Indianapolis 500 The 14th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1926. Louis Chevrolet drove the Chrysler pace car for the start. Rain halted the race at lap 72, and officials waited for the track t ...

, and set a world

land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

for a distance average. In all, he had nine

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wins and two vice-championships in two years of competition.

Racing career

Lockhart was raised in Southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He became a famous West Coast dirt track racer. Lockhart had a strong engineering and motor building ability that he used to build custom cars throughout his career.

1926

Lockhart began his career in Frontenac-prepared Fords (Fronty Fords) at

board track racing Board track racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. This type of track was first used for moto ...

events, where he showed remarkable speed against the dominating

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is ...

s and

Miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

s for two seasons.Mike Twite, "Frank Lockhart" in Tom Northey, ed., ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis Publishing Ltd, 1974), Volume 11, p.1210 His big break came when he was signed as a relief driver for

Peter Kreis A. J. "Peter" Kreis (January 19, 1900 – May 25, 1934) was an American racecar driver. He and riding mechanic Robert Hahn were killed in a turn one accident while practicing for the 1934 Indianapolis 500. As he was entering the turn, a c ...

's eight-cylinder

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

Miller at the

.Biography
at the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...

, Retrieved March 15, 2007 He convinced Kreis to allow him to take some "warm up" laps, and he clocked quicker times than Kreis (120.919 mph ). He set a new unofficial track record on his first official qualifying lap (a three lap average was used to set a track record). He cut down a tire and crashed on the second qualifying lap. He also had mechanical problems on his second attempt. He slowed down on his third and final attempt, and qualified 20th overall with a speed of 95.780 mph (154.113 km/h). On race day, he moved from 20th to fifth by Lap 5, having passed 14 cars on that lap alone. He moved up to second on Lap 16. Lockhart took the lead from Dave Lewis shortly after a rain delay on Lap 72. Lewis and Lockhart battled for the lead for the next 20 laps, until Lewis dropped out. Lockhart nearly stretched out a two lap lead before rain ended the race on Lap 160, becoming the fourth

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

to win the Indianapolis 500. Lockhart bought the car. He later bought a second Miller car, and he set track records almost everywhere he went. He won four more AAA championship events in 1926, and finished second in the standings.

1927

Lockhart's car was the first car equipped with an

intercooler An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Mo ...

. The intercooler added to his speed at his first race at Culver City in March. Lockhart qualified on the pole for the 1927

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 ...

in his Perfect Circle Miller. Lockhart led the opening 81 laps, and a full 107 before his car broke a connecting rod, setting an opening lap-leader record that stood for 64 years. He won five more AAA championship events in 1927, and repeated the vice-championship.

Racing career summary

In his racing career he set the all-time qualifying speed record at Atlantic City, a record first exceeded at Indianapolis in 1960. He raced at 22 board track events in his career, with eight wins and fourteen Top 5 finishes, and is 25th on the all-time lap leader board at Indianapolis.

Land speed record and death

On April 11, 1927, Lockhart took one of his tiny 91 cubic inch (1491 cc)

intercooled An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Most ...

Millers out at the Muroc dry lake and set a land speed record of 160.01 mph (257.50 km/h) for a two-way average in the mile (1.6 km), with a peak speed of 171 mph (275 km/h). Backed by

Stutz Motor Company The Stutz Motor Car Company, was an American producer of high-end Sports cars, sports and Luxury vehicle, luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935. Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars ...

, Lockhart combined two supercharged 91 ci (1.5 L)

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

Miller motors, producing about 380 hp (280 kW),Tom Northey, "Land Speed Record", ''op. cit.'', Volume 10, p.1164. the smallest-displacement car ever to make the attempt,David Burgess Wise, "Stutz", ''op. cit.'', Volume 19, p.2230. to set a new land speed record in the 122–183 cubic inch (2–3

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

) class at

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. On April 25, 1928, Lockhart's ''Stutz Black Hawk Special''

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...

(named for the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

town that was home to Stutz's factory ) turned a warmup run of 198.29 mph (319.1 km/h), with his first official pass at 203.45 mph (327.40 km/h), well below the 207.552 mph (334.007 km/h) mark set earlier in the year by

Ray Keech Charles Raymond Keech (May 1, 1900 - June 15, 1929) was an American board track and brick track racer in the 1920s. He is best remembered for winning the 1929 Indianapolis 500, and for setting a land speed record. Career Land speed record ...

in his 81-litre (4178 ci) '' Triplex Special''. On Lockhart's return pass the ''Black Hawk Special'' right rear tire exploded due to a blister which had formed during his first pass at speed, went out of control and tumbled violently across the sand, throwing Lockhart from the car and killing him instantly.

Indianapolis 500 results

Awards

*Lockhart was inducted in the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame 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 Indi ...

in 1965. *He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in the first class in 1990. *He was inducted in the

Frank Lockhart
at the

in 1999.

References

racemaker.comBiographyBiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Frank Racing drivers who died while racing 1903 births 1928 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Indianapolis 500 winners Land speed record people National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Cleveland Sports deaths in Florida Filmed deaths in motorsport AAA Championship Car drivers Racing drivers from Dayton, Ohio