Jim Travers, who first rose to prominence along with his partner Frank Coon as the “Whiz Kids” behind Bill Vukovich’s success at Indianapolis, and later founded famed engine house Traco Engineering, has died at the age of 95. Collaborating with constructor Frank Kurtis, Travers (at right, above) and Coon built a special Kurtis Kraft KK500 for oilman Howard Keck who hired Vukovich to drive, installing the engine nine inches left of center and inclined at a 36-degree angle to the right so as to shift the car’s center of gravity down and to the left — or to the inside for Indy’s four left turns. After nearly winning in 1952, Vukovich swept to dominant victories in ’53 and ’54 with developed versions of the car.
Attempts to build a “streamliner” for ’55 fell behind schedule, so when Vukovich signed with Lindsey Hopkins for the 500, Travers and Coon went with him, but the effort ended in tragedy just past quarter distance as Vukovich got caught up in someone else’s accident and crashed to his death.
After that Traco Engineering came into being and served as one of American racing’s premier engine shops for many years in a variety of categories, specializing in Chevy small block V8s, and winning another Indy 500 in 1972 providing the turbocharged Offy that powered Mark Donohue to Roger Penske‘s first Indy victory. In recent years Travers lived in Utah where he worked regularly in his machine shop. To all his family and friends Vintage Racecar extends its sincerest condolences.
