Thursday, March 19, 2020

unusual racecar hauler for that era, but check out the rocket tube tail it seems to have (thanks Kim!)


Sig Haugdahl was the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) national auto racing driving champion each year from 1927 through 1932, and built the first man-driven rocket powered car in America in the early 1930s.

Two earlier efforts in Germany a few years earlier, one was an unmanned rocket sled that ran on a rail,


the other was Von Opel himself driving the Rak 2 in 1928 and setting a new speed record reaching 148 mph but only in a straight line. The record attempt was witnessed by 3,000 spectators, including journalists, celebrities, and athletes".



http://jckronbauer.blogspot.com/2018/05/em-1928-o-opel-rak-2-impulsionado-por-24-foguetes-atingia-o-recorde-de-velocidade-de-238-kmh.html

 Sig only drove the rocket car in exhibition runs, the first public one being on June 17, 1932 at the Bo Sterns Speedway, Wichita, Kansas. The car was scheduled to make a second exhibition run at the same racetrack on June 19, 1932 but that performance was postponed to August 7, 1932 due to rain.




When the car finally did make a speed run at Bo Stearns Speedway, it turned one lap on the half-mile track in 33.2 before the rockets burned out on the second lap.

http://myflatheadford.com/gallery-standard-3-column/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-flying-norwegian-the-first-rocket-race-car-in-1932.413223/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by.428585/page-717
http://winfield.50megs.com/JetCar.htm

1 comment:

  1. They Call Me Mr. 500, by Andy Granitelli, has a hilarious story about a Rocket Car he and his brother built to perform at the State Fair circuit. It's a fast read and all about cars and his Indy career. USAC screwed him over numerous times with the Novi, his turbine cars, anything that may buck the Offy and status quo.

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