Motion Pictures Rockets At Indy

Guess that's the origin of the urban legend. If you were around back then, it may have been on the movie news just before the cartoons.

 

WOW!!!!!!! .....I am not sure the had real big balls or just very little brains...........these guys are something else from back then.

Very Cool, Ryan. I am glad that I am not the only one awake......lol.....

 

Oh hell yes !! That's how the term ""Fast as a Streak of Shit"" came about. And by the way that's the same dude that used to narrate the films in the shop class videos telling us how damn dangerous the Table Saw was >>>>.

 

Ryan ... I think you meant JATO (Jet-Assisted-Take-Off) rockets ... not NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

 

I was going to say RATO. They're good for all kinds of stuff, never thought of Indy, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxfpGPWtoOY

 

in typical race driver style he was probably disappointed and wanted to try a bigger one with a different cam next year.

 

I need a couple for my trip to the TEXAS mile.

 

That's what I was thinking too ... but I kinda remember reading somewhere that the "JATO '67 Impala" urban legend was based on a story that Andy Granatelli told in his autobiography ... supposedly, after WWII (circa 1946) Andy and his brothers strapped some surplus JATO rockets onto an old Indy Car ... the first rocket they tried was a dud ... so Andy took the car out to a two-lane highway and fired all the bottles at once ... ... after that fiasco, the brothers rigged it so Andy could fire just one bottle at a time ... and took the car on a "Barnstorming Tour" across the country (state & county fairgrounds / dirt tracks).

EDIT: Found an article about the restored Andy Granatelli Rocket Car:



... just click HERE.

 

Where do I buy a 1946 rocket powered roadster? Is there a forum on here for that?

 

Cool, but just to be safe I'm updating the rules for the RoundUp minibike races!

 

...at least he had on his safety sweater.

 

Some one should try that at the Jalopy Showdown.

 

And it was white when he got in the car! No shot of him getting out, thank God!

 

I think the conversation started something like this,

hey man, I have been working on this thing in my garage. I am pretty sure it will work. Can we test it out on your car?

 

Thought it was funny that he "..got a bon voyage from the noted racecar driver Wilbur Shaw" Wondered why he wasn't driving for a minute, lol.
Off topic, but I watched that Grocery Store Wars video below the one you posted and that was some funny sh*t

 

Yeah, we used to do that all the time...



Then again, our cars were somewhat smaller...

 

I m so down.... I m stupid enough to drive that thing... maybe thats my next build.

 

Duke Nalon...a real legend in American racing history. Put the front drive Novi on the pole in 1949, which was the same year he hit the turn 2 wall and was seriously burned. That incident was included in Mickey Rooney's "The Big Wheel" movie. Duke was a frequent visitor to Indianapolis Raceway Park when I was there in the 80s and 90s. A really nice guy. He passed away in 2001.

Here's the Duke in 1949...

 

Quote..Thought it was funny that he "..got a bon voyage from the noted racecar driver Wilbur Shaw" Wondered why he wasn't driving for a minute, lol.

In 1946, at Wilbur Shaw's urging, Tony Hulman had purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Eddie Rickenbacker, and Shaw was president of the Speedway.

 

Somewhere I have a little metal toy of that red racer Granatelli drove.

 

I wasn't going to go into corrective mode, but since its out there, you are correct. It is JATO. My father was one who helped in its development and application, as well as other liquid and solid rocket propulsion systems, all the way up to and throught he space shuttle, God rest his soul. They used them on mace and matador missiles as well. Dad used to say that the only difference between a bomb and a rocket was that one end wasn't capped.

 

Geez... my '57 Olds had two cracked heads and it smoked just like that. I guess I didn't realize it might have had a couple jet engines...

 

Good stuff Ryan! Here's another.........

 

I don't know...that seems like a lot of fanfare at the start. In Texas it just sounds like this: "Hey Bubba, I got an idea. Hold my beer for a minute." lol

 

JohnShaft, that is classic Texan. Thanks. And kroozer, your Olds was letting out the "magic smoke." Forget all that stuff about pistons, rods, valves, crankshafts, etc. It's the magic smoke that makes a car run. Ever notice how a race car has to pull in after all the magic smoke comes out?

 

Yep, Duke Nalon was a true legend. If you ever make it to the Speedway, Duke's son drives one of the tour buses on the weekends -- great guy with a lot of stories about his old man and the famous Novi racers. The wreck in '49 was a doozy...flames all across the width of the track. I've seen some great photos of Bill Holland, who would go on to win in '49, driving the Blue Crown Special through those flames. Those dudes were fearless.

Holland, by the way, should have won in his rookie year of '47 as well. He was in one of Lou Moore's Blue Crown Specials that year too, with teammate Mauri Rose. Holland and Rose were running 1-2, and Moore gave them the EZ sign toward the end of the race to tell them to take it easy and nurse the cars to a 1-2 finish. Holland, who had led 143 laps that day, heeded his car owner's instructions, but Rose went for a pass on his teammate. Holland, thinking Rose was merely unlapping himself, waved his teammate by into the lead...and thus lost his chance at a rookie win at Indy.