17/2/1908, Frank Kurtis dies.
Having built race cars in his backyard, Frank’s first entry to the 1948 Indy 500 with the Kurtis-Kraft Special ended with a 2nd place finish and won the championship that year. Frank’s dream came true when Johnny Parsons steers the Kurtis Wynn’s Oil Special to victory at the 1949 Indy 500. The following year Parsons and Kurtis repeated the feat, coincidentally the big race also counting for the first time as a round for the Formula 1 World Championship. Kurtis-Kraft created over 550 ready-to-run midget cars, 600 midgets in kit form and 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, winning the Indy 500 a total five times until 1963. Frank retired in 1968 handing the company over to his son Arlen and passed away in 1987.
Born: 25th of January 1908 in Crested Butte, USA;
Died: 17th of February 1987 in Glendale, USA.
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