Just A Car Guy: From 1962-82 small Wheel Horse tractors were used to push or tow race cars to and from the racetrack at the Indianapolis 500. Wheel Horse tractors, ( primarily sold at dealerships in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio) The Official Work Horse of the “500.”

Thursday, June 26, 2025

From 1962-82 small Wheel Horse tractors were used to push or tow race cars to and from the racetrack at the Indianapolis 500. Wheel Horse tractors, ( primarily sold at dealerships in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio) The Official Work Horse of the “500.”

Beginning in 1961, Wheel Horse loaned approximately 40 new tractors to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for use by race teams to tow their cars around the pits for the testing and racing activities during the month of May. A promotion dubbed the Indy 2 ½ was even created as the kickoff event, where the tractors were paraded from flagship distributor Radio Equipment Co. in Indianapolis to the speedway and then raced one lap around the famed 2.5 mile Brickyard piloted by dealers and other local media personalities. The publicity stunt was a huge success for Wheel Horse, and later advertising would tout Wheel Horse tractors as The Official Work Horse of the “500.”