Kurtis Kraft was an American designer and builder of race cars. The company built
midget cars
Midget (from '' midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like " dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ...
,
quartermidgets,
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
s,
sprint cars,
Bonneville cars, and
USAC Championship cars. It was founded by
Frank Kurtis Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of K ...
when he built his own midget car chassis in the late 1930s.
[Biography]
at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Kurtis built some very low fiberglass bodied two-seaters sports cars under his own name in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...
between 1949 and 1955.
Ford (US) running gear was used. About 36
Kurtis Sport Cars had been made when the licence was sold to
Earl "Madman" Muntz
Earl William "Madman" Muntz (January 3, 1914 – June 21, 1987) was an American businessman and engineer who sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987. He was a pioneer in telev ...
who built the
Muntz Jet. In 1954 and 1955, road versions of their Indianapolis racers were offered.
Kurtis Kraft created 387 midget cars, some ready to race and some without engines or otherwise incomplete. Parts for several dozen were sold also, possibly as "kits." The Kurtis Kraft chassis midget car featured a smaller version of the
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 ...
motor. The
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame describes the combination as "virtually unbeatable for over twenty years."
Kurtis Kraft also created 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, including five winners.
Kurtis sold the midget car portion of the business to
Johnny Pawl
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females.
Varian ...
in the late 1950s, and the quarter midget business to
Ralph Potter in 1962.
Frank Kurtis was the first non-driver inducted in the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (U.S.). Zeke Justice and Ed Justice of the
Justice Brothers
Justice brothers (Ed, Gus and Zeke) were figures in motorsports and automotive industry. Founding a company in the oil additive industry.
Youth - Paola, Kansas
Edward Ray Justice, Sr. was born June 12, 1921 in Paola, Kansas. Lawrence Milton "Z ...
both worked at Kurtis-Kraft after World War II. Zeke Justice was the first employee at Kurtis-Kraft.
The FIA World Drivers' Championship included the Indianapolis 500 between 1950 and 1960, so many Kurtis Kraft cars are credited with competing in that championship. One Kurtis midget car was also entered in the 1959
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
United States Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
driven by
Rodger Ward
Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...
. It was not designed for international-style road racing and with an undersized engine it circulated at the back of the field for 20 laps before retiring with clutch problems.
World Championship results
From 1950 to 1960, the
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 ...
was part of the
FIA World Championship.
(Note: Race winners in bold)
References
External links
{{Authority control
Formula One constructors
American racecar constructors
Companies based in California
Sports car manufacturers