The author’s primary impression of the car is of the need to keep the revs up so that the boost,...
Primarily, my racing with BMW was through Teddy Mayer and McLaren, as BMW and McLaren had been partners in a...
Photo: Dan R. Boyd Legendary car builder A.J. Watson, whose front-engined roadster designs helped define an era at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, passed away in mid-May, just four days after celebrating his 90th birthday. Watson’s very first roadster won the 1956 Indy 500 in the hands of Pat Flaherty (above),...
Alpine and Renault – the Sports Prototypes Vols. 1 & 2 By Roy Smith Originally published in 2010, the story...
Talking with famed Indianapolis chassis builder A. J. Watson, the question arises about the front, twin air inlets—the signature of the Watson Roadster. The first four Watson Roadsters, of 1956–1958, had a single air inlet and chrome grille, so why the change? Surely it had some advantage. Was it the...
Jim Rathmann’s career in motor racing is marked not only by a hard-fought win in the 1960 Indy 500 but...
My first experience with a front-engine roadster was when I first went back east to race. I wound up driving...
Prior to 1959, I ran pretty well on the mile tracks with the dirt cars, but at Indianapolis, I never had a car that was quite suitable. Finally, in 1959, I got a chance to drive for Bob Wilke and A. J. Watson, who was Wilke’s chief mechanic. I have...
“Dinosaurs,” we called them, ridiculing their bulk, their weight, their mindless loyalty to outmoded dogma. Indy Roadsters; they were rife...
