Kurtis-Kraft: Masterworks of Speed and Style

Working out of his shop in Glendale, California, Frank Kurtis changed the face of American racing, producing a long string of innovative midget, sprint, champ and Indy cars from 1935 to 1963. This photohistory examines the entire range of these Kurtis-Kraft racers, with special emphasis on the 60-plus cars that campaigned the Indianapolis 500 in the 1950s and early 1960s. Kurtis-Kraft racers (powered largely by the period's legendary Offenhauser engines) won the 500 an incredible five out of six years from 1950 to 1955. In 1956, at the May classic, 21 of the 33 cars in the starting field were built by Kurtis.