Fred Offenhauser... Born ... He became a toolmaking machinist with Pacific Electric Railway. In 1913, he went to work for Harry A. Miller, a successful manufacturer of carburetors. Offenhauser helped Miller turn a flood of ideas for racing engines into metal. Engines that began to win races. As early as 1922, an eight-cylinder Miller engine won the Indianapolis 500, as Millers would for nine out of the next 12 years. In 1932, he encouraged Harry Miller to build a 255 cubic inch, four-cylinder racing engine. The powerplant outlived Miller's bankruptcy and went on, in various forms, to win the Indianapolis 500 30 times, twice the Miller nameplates and 28 times with Offenhsauser identification. When Miller lost his business in 1933 and Offenhauser took part of the 18 months in back wages he was owed in the form of machinery, patterns and parts, setting up shop just around the corner from the Miller plant in LA and made parts for the Miller 255. In 1934, to meet the demand for a reliable engine for the new sport of midget racing, Offenhauser had Leo Goosen draw up a much smaller version of the 255. Quickly dubbed "The Mighty Midget," that engine came to dominate midget racing until the rules changed in the 1960s. Fred put his stamp on the big 255 and 270 engines in 1935 and Kelly Petillo won the Indy 500 that year with an Offenhauser. After World War II, Fred sold the business to Lou Meyer and Dale Drake who carried on the Offy engine. Fred died on August 17, 1973. In May of the same year, Johnny Rutherford had put a turbo-Offy on the pole at Indy. Gordon Johncock won the race with another Offy. His engines would win three more 500s before the turbo boost rules brought an end to the Offenhauser dynasty.
1934
John Surtees ...Born ... A former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels.
1951
Marshall Teague drove his Hudson Hornet to victory in the 160 mile NASCAR Grand National race on the 4.1 mile beach and road course. Teague passed Tim Flock's Lincoln with 12 laps left and finished 1 minute, 14 seconds ahead of Flock. The race attracted entries from all over the country with 6th place Les Snow of Bloomington, Indiana the highest finishing non-Southern driver. 1949 Indy 500 winner Bill Holland, on suspension by the AAA for driving in an unsanctioned charity race at a Florida short track, was an early dropout in a factory backed Nash.
1954
Arthur Duray... Died ... A Belgian racecar driver. He is probably best known today for breaking the land speed record on three separate occasions between July, 1903 and March, 1904. Ran AAA races in 1914, 1915 and 1918. Finished 2nd in the 1914 Indy 500.
1959
Marshall Teague... Died ... NASCAR, AAA and USAC driver. Finished 7th in the 1957 Indy 500. Teague, 37, died in a crash during a closed course speed record attempt at the new Daytona International Speedway. Teague was driving a Chapman Root owned Indy roadster with an enclosed canopy and covered wheels. He had just turned a 3rd lap at 160.25 mph before losing control in turn 1. The record at the time was 177.038 mph set by Tony Bettenhausen at Monza, Italy the year before. In an earlier shakedown run, Teague had unofficially gone 171.82 mph. NASCAR's original treasurer, Teague won 7 NASCAR Grand National races in Hudson Hornet "Teaguemobiles" he built and owned, including back to back wins on his hometown Daytona beach course in 1951 & '52. Teague scored 5 of his 7 wins in '51, but was stripped of points for running an AAA Stock Car race. In 1952, with an eye on Indianapolis, Teague left NASCAR and joined the rival AAA where he went on to become a 2-time Stock Car champion and made two Indy 500 starts.
Roberto Moreno... Born ... Formula One and Indy car driver from Brazil.
1971
Pete Hamilton and David Pearson won the twin 125-mile NASCAR Grand National qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway. Hamilton beat A.J. Foyt by 3 feet to win the first race. Hamilton made the winning pass when Foyt eased off the throttle for Ron Keselowski's flipping car, allowing Hamilton to close and pass. It was Hamilton's first start in Cotton Owens' Plymouth. Pearson drove his Holman-Moody Mercury by Buddy Baker's Petty Dodge with 6 laps to go to take the second race.
1978
Phil Davoulas wins the TQ Midget feature at the indoor Atlantic City Convention Hall.
1979
Buddy Baker beat Darrell Waltrip by one car length to win the inaugural NASCAR Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Baker averaged 193.384 mph for the 10 laps.
1994
Neil Bonnett ... Died ... NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career and died from injuries suffered in a practice crash at Daytona. He was part of the famous "Alabama Gang". Bonnett was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1997, was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
1995
Dale Jarrett is top qualifier for the Daytona 500, his first NASCAR Winston Cup pole.
2001
Dave Schultz... Died ... Legendary, six-time NHRA Pro Stock Bike champion died of colon cancer at age 52.
ONE DAY
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