Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 May 1948 — Page 16

7 __. THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Ng Cotton Henning, Nursing Race Cars Since No: Changes Made 1921, Confident of Another Win Monday (fenhansers

le Could |. Veteran Mechanic ~ [FTE | 1

Fixed Truman's Car BEL

* ’ iv The dean of automobile mechanics at Indianapolis Speedway , ’ opened the window ‘of Wis garage : . {and wafted a thin stream of Rules Permit, \ |tobacco juice onto the cinders out2 side. R But Chance Remote f= He turned and approvingly eyed By C.J. SMITH {the black Maserati bearing the Rex Mays, traveling at afi oid Rumber and wel Dad x {te shining a piece of me ubing average speed of 130.577 for four) in 2-wad of steel Wool. bing laps on the first qualifying day, « feel confident about tne race won the coveted pole position tor| Monday,” he said slowly, “It's a “hie Bowes Seal Fast--Special- in/g00d car. sitting over. there. and : {in my, opinion it has the best the 500-mile classic. : {driver on the’ track. With a little

Same as 20 Years Ago, Meyer Says | “The Offenhauser? It is the same engine it was 20 years ago and it's still good.” That is the sentiment of Lou Meyer, three-time winner of tiw {owner of the Offenhauser”plant in| & California. He says he hasn't —

b- . Under the AAA rules only the Mile Race. With his car and

33 fastest cars can compete, 80 if driver all set for the big event 33 cars could qualify at 2 speed Cotton is taking it easy around

higher than Mays, he would be Ms Sarage onthe southwest. knocked out of the pole position, corner of Gasoline Alley.

requirements for the Indianapolis|the official starter’s post during

|costs become lower, we will have The

al’ cars would move up one po-| ~ Worked for Truman

sition. | * The history of Cotton Henning

|

duction to the Indianapolis Speed- year he joined the Boyle Racing| The Offenhauser engines which “geet today—with all spe(way as mechanic for a car bullt/team and has been with it ever|power, such cars as Rose's, Hol any bullt racing cars—semiThis situation -could--sxist--andi8. the history of the American, 'n.. Brett and driven by Joe since. lland’s and Jackson's cost approx-|

A a

gar Contrary to the “500” Miler as/tor them at the track. 9

Ph Cato TT

id

FANCY STABLE — Several garages in Gasoline A léy, like the Tucker stable the Speedway shove are furnished with -alt-the-comforts of -

1 to sat home..J4.this_one Preston Tucker. Jr Bhi JAY, Syd YE na no desire] oie Benefiel and Mutt Boyd (lef

t to right) wopk comfortably under the bree

Immediately the old question! " " to back track in one : * ; . . . arose. Could Mays be bumped|'c* W¢Il win. of ‘the big jobs roaring around| of an electric fan. A water cooler stands in the corner and a radio plays soft music, nh Takes It Easy the oval ns. ' from the pole position? The That's th HH, C. (Cotton . Wt a that . d . answer, fantastic as it may seem, at's the way H. C. ( n ving—an 's is yes. Here is how it could be/Henning feels about the whole that,” he declared. Bridge Once Use Gasol e ! done. thing on the eve of his 734 500- But talking abou !

ara alps roe Pols | Alley's Bulging a i Ee es we Ab Seams With 64 Cars

of costs and because it is im- bridge, hung high over he track Gasoline Alley 18 bulging at the

mechanics for each car yet som, possible to_tell now what engine in front of the pagoqa, served A%. seams this year with a record stables like Lou Moore and

} n: However, this is an entirely dif- — 2 |the race. From this position he number of cars at the track. {Lee have only three mechani e Here is what Would happes; ferent picture than was showing race will be in the future. signaled the drivers with the as-| As soon as the Speedway re-|for three cars. The Granate i: Abtithe iat 2 cars DNaveiy, the Henning garage four weeks ‘Need New Engine’ sortment of flags which are so/ceived ita all-time high entry list|8arage has the record for th yh qualified. Jite still remains on, gc, Then the Maserati was | “But we need a new engine and|necessary to the running of the of 80 cars it Immediately made most mechanics—13. But the, 3 Be am aol cation Say hg (ut | scattered in__a thevasand pleces Nations Ons Of Snging apd race. arrangements for temporary ga-|the crew is attempting to reat 4 folly Sue 3h car, Snow "and Cotton ‘wasn't chewing be- a hase Years, bridge was replaced in 1924 rages at the rear of the alley. [four cars for the race.

: car do the four qualification 1aps| q,46 he couldn't take time to go 4 2 the outef i cause Vigo ) : built{ . } at an average speed higher than| ~ . . ' It,” he sald. “Just to give you|by a starter's stand on the outer Four of these have been ¥ the slowest already qualified, ne{o he Window. Be’ Bas pik to AND SO TO BED—Cotton Henning, master racing mechanic. |an idea of what making the first] rim of the track. with tin roof and partitions aud Speedway Oval’s Fingl : ¢ would ‘take the last position in| inner thi puts the covers on the Bennett Bros, Special: Ted Horn won the (new engine would cost I found! re (wooden sides, 22¥ Sard ped Brick Laid in 1909 the last row. The car with the Moriday's mpl tell. 1 he Das, Maserati a position in the second row bf the starting line-up. fout that the first Mercedes en-| Semi-Stock Cars ly vseupied. Several of the sus C n lowest qualification speed would will be his fifth, Cotton is satisfied the car is ready to-go. gine like the one in the Don Lee (ca Ran in ‘500’ are 8 salle Swot pry spe The final brick was Placed fy be dropped from the lineup, and tte Av etn ae car cost $225,000.” i ages the 2%-mile oval of the Ing.

anapolis Motor Speedway on Several Are Elaborate 17, 0908, preceeding a A

: Sa he lead-| Furnishings of the stables vary|time trials which carry on so long as there was POY Who loved to put “things 10" / Thomas. Cotton rode as mechanic’ Cotton has had a big hand in imately $5700 with transnussioh gre in the late Twenties and early greatly. Eh like the Tucker isting records for the tra time and cars that could qualify gether and make them run. Back. the 33d lap with Louis Fon {7 cars “which finished in the ready to install, Meyer said. | Tmirties. . |garage, ‘are elaborate. Linoleum|’ The brick was of coin silver ang at a speed higher than the lowest/in his native town of lidepend- yong driving relief, when the ear money. Four won first—DePaolo” His two plans which employ In 1931 eight of the 15 carsicovers the floor in some and was plated with gold. Its weigh In the field of 33 cars. ence, Mo. in 1912, he went 8}; tne wall on the northwestin 1925 Bill Cummings in 1934. about 45 persons turmed out 15 which finished the 500-Miile grind benches, floors and walls are was about 52 pounds. It wa No-Alternate-Allowed-.. YOK (or the Stafford Motor CAr i um, Cotton. rode. withthe. same. and Wilbur—Shaw.if.-.1030.. 40d. new-engines-for-this-race.. Mayer were. of - the semi-stock varie'y painted. Cotton. Henning has placed in position by Gov. Thom

Cars bumped out of the line- ee i ™ b team the next year. : 1940. Four won third—Cummings|is in partnership with Dalé Drake/In 1932 five semiistock makes sleeping and eatinf accommoda- R. Marshall, who_became Vi up because of low qualification Dyas only 15 ai the time but Brush With Death in 1935, Chet Miller in 1938, andi{in Los Angeles in the Meyer- were entered in the race. Oftions in his {President of the United BStaty he fibbed a year on his age and Ted Horn in 1946 and 1947. Three| Drake Engineering Co. Ithese, two finished. There is an average of three under Woodrow Wilson.

then ex. ck.

speed would be dropped fiom the/they took him for 16." On week-| That year was almost fatal for heLou Mever in 1937| race and would not compete ends he used to pick up a little/the master mechanic. While rid-| WO ign rd ars 1940. Two! under any circumstances [or|money on the side by working on|IDg on a board track with Pete| Uo “sop hopaiio in 1026 and) there would be no alternate cars the Stafford of a man named DePaclo their car crashed andy..." "1096 Three won sixth|

allowed. However the drivers of [Harry 8. Truman. Cotton was laid up in the hos-|_ ePaclo in 1924, Cummings in|

these cars could drive In.the race “He used to drive his car into Pital for three weeks. 11837 and Miller in 1941. One won ( 88 relief men for some individual town from Grandview, where he| 1Dat was.the worst ride I ooo on. rk Wearne in hry driver or team, lived, to see his girl, who is now|®VeT had,” he recalled, and it| kept him away from Indianap- -Big Garage olis in 1923, the only race he has| Cotton's garage is Na ’ of & CAF being bumped from Me ms. hi Br ono imissed since his first, |roomy as a suite at Hotel Antlers ga ue “although “thé records my om. FoF, A180 WOFK..OB. 1-1. 1924 Cotton went to Work where he has lived for the last . " a a lot of fixing in those s,. pete DePaclo and the di-|16 years, Besides drawers filled

But there seems to be only one his wife,” Cotton explained. “And real possible and probaole chance he would bring his car around to

mechanical {1 2 I Sart of the el TE alist. Replio) It-was— in 1925 -that- Cotton|t00ls, a lathe and a power drill. TT entered. These Two cars, which =. -3ent.him a letter of cof: groomed - his first winner, -De-In the “ante room” is a hot-plate| . would include the one seated on|S itulations when he became paolo flashed across the finish and refrigerator. This makes up the pole, might be bumped be- President and he sent me a nice|jjne first that year in a Duesen- what is known ‘as “Henning’s| cause theirs was. the slowest) ONS reply. 2 berg at the astonishing average Hash House” and Cotton serves qualification speed. Cotton- left the Stafford com- of 101.13 miles an hour: heaping plate lunches and coffee } But the RANEY Of a car tnat/PARY for a job with Cadillac, then| Henning and DePaolo worked to a large list of boarders. has averaged over 130 mph for|joined the Navy during World together through 1930 and in| As the bachelor mechanic says, four 1aps being bumped irom the War I. Afterwards he returned 1931 Cotton had the Rigling-|“I've spent too much time play-| pole is very definitely in the|t0 Cadillac. * Henning Special on the tracking nurse-maid to race cars to| realm of the improbable. | “Then in 1921 he got his intro-|driven by Babe Stapp. The nextiever think of getting married.”

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do not show this ever odurming. days 1._never thought at the a : inde a : Suppose 50 Of of two cars run uy minutive Italian came In sixth with assortments of nuts, bolts, oe 3 3 per nro the first a 8 un time he'd some day become Pres-\yngt year |washers, etc, the long work : ident. Flt Winner in 1985 benches are stacked neatly with . .

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