Today is the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. As a 13 year-old I listened to the 1958 race on KLTZ radio in Glasgow. The year before there had been a technological revolution in cars. Someone got the idea to lay the Offenhauser engine that dominated the race on its side. This lowered the profile of the cars, making them faster. With the hood open, the cars looked a little weird. The entire drivetrain was shifted off the center line. Sam Hanks won the ’57 race using this design. By the ’58 race, it was obvious you couldn’t win without a “lay-down” engine. That race was marred by a first lap crash that took the life of one of my favorite drivers, Pat O’Conner. The crash took out half the field. Jimmy Bryan won in the same car Hanks had used the year before. A rookie named A.J Foyt made his debut at the 1958 race.
took the life of racing great Pat O’Connor
Film of the 1958 Indianapolis 500 race, to include the crash that claimed the life of Pat O’Connor https://youtu.be/RvNK-jXSvFU
Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies 
How you remember stuff from that long ago amazes me! I know you loved the cars, for sure. It’s fun to learn about the sideways engine. Do any cars do that these days? It sounds familiar.
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