Mitch G.
06-04-2009, 04:30 PM
In 1959, A.J. Watson parts company with Jack Zink, and gets hired on with Bob Wilke, and the "Leader Card Team". Watson's old shop in L.A., gets razed for a new highway, so he opens a new shop at 421 West Palmer in Los Angeles. Watson builds 2 roadsters in 1959, the roadsters now have roll bars, and the new "2 hole shark nose", nose piece. One roadster goes to Lindsey Hopkins, the other for Watson's new boss, Wilke. These are the first roadster's to come out of 421 West Palmer. Down in NASCAR land, Bill France sr. has just completed the first state of the art "Super Speedway", Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Unlike the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Daytona is a tri-oval with dizzying 33 degree banked turns. France wanting to showcase his new facility schedules a USAC National Championship race set for April 4, 1959.
A non point event, both new Watson's sit on the front row, Hopkins Watson sets a new record for a closed course at over 170 mph. Roger Ward is the hired gun for the Wilke Watson, and he finishes 2nd to Jim Rathman in the Hopkins roadster in the 1st heat, and 13th after spinning out, in the 2nd Daytona race.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=496
Ward in the #5 outside of Rathman in the #16, 1959 Daytona over 170mph!
On to Indianapolis for the 500, Ward is jazzed, even though Rathman is the early favorite with his powerful win at Daytona. Sure enough, Ward's confidence was well placed, he wins his 1st Indy 500, with Watson as crew chief, and the new roadster is off to a grand start.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=497
Here are Watson, and Ward after winning the 500 in May of 1959, notice the Watson roadster has the new nose, and no rear push bar. The rear push bar would be standard on Watson roadsters from 1960 on.
Wilke orders a new roadster for Ward in 1960, and the #5 car becomes a 2nd Leader Card car, with Chuck Stevenson at the wheel.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=498
The Wilke team and their 2nd Indy entry #65 with Chuck Stevenson in the "wheel house"
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=499
Nice shot of the beautiful Watson roadster, 1960 Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stevenson had a bad Indy, he spun out of the race on lap 51.
Stevenson ran a couple more races in 1960 without much success.
In 1961 Wilke sells the Watson to Doug Stearly, it's painted bright red, #24 entered as the "Stearly Motor Freight Special". Indy veteran Paul Russo is hired to drive the Stearly Watson for the 1961 Indy 500.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=500
The Stearly Watson, Indy 1961.
Russo and Stearly struggle with the car, so Russo goes to see his old midget racing buddy, and close friend, Tony Bettenhausen for help. Bettenhausen is driving for Lindsey Hopkins, and are favored to do well, if not win the 500.
Tony can't turn down his old pal, and takes the Stearly out for a shake down, despite his Hopkins team trying to talk him out of it. Bettenhausen runs a few laps, appears to be coming to the pits, speeds up for a couple more hot laps, the car suddenly lurches toward the front chute wall, climbs the concrete wall, flips into the chain link safety fence, wraps itself in chain link fencing, posts, and catches fire, killing the legendary Tony Bettenhausen. Some say a bolt on the front pan hard bar fell out, and when Tony tapped the brakes the cars front axel pulled to one side of the car causing it to veer hard right. Sadly one of Watson's wonderful roadsters had taken the life of a auto racing giant.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=501
Crews start to remove the remains of the Bettenhausen, Stearly Watson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 12, 1961
Doug Stearly hauls the wreckage back to his shop in Pennsylvania, and it remains there till 1978, when Stearly delivers the remains to A.J. Watson and his shop in Indianapolis. The car gets restored to it's 1959 appearance. According to Gary Wayne's wonderful 2001 book, "The Watson Years When roadster ruled the speeday", the restored Watson was bought by Bob Rubin on Long Island, New York in the mid 80's. In 1989 Rubin put the car up for auction but it did not sell, there, but was sold to a classic automobile dealer in New York. In March of 1990 the Watson was acquired Pat Ryan and located in the Prisma Collection in Montgomery, Alabama. Wayne ends the chapter in his book regarding this particular Watson roadster saying, that several years later A.J. Watson himself, built an exact replica of the Roger Ward 1959 Indy winning car, for race car collector Tom Malloy in southern California.
Stats for the 6th roadster to come out of the Watson shops.
Daytona 50 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 13th - 4/4/59
Daytona 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 2nd - 4/4/59
Indianapolis 500 - Roger Ward/Wile #5 - start 6th, finish 1st - 5/30/59
Milwaukee 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 2nd, finish 13th - 6/7/59
Milwaukee 200 - Roger Ward/Wikle #5 - start 19th, finish 1st - 8/30/59
Trenton 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 18th - 9/27/59
Indianapois 500 - Chuck Stevenson/Wilke #65 - start 9th, finish 15th - 5/30/60
Milwaukee 100 - Chuck Stevenson/Wikle #65 - start 6th, finish 20th 6/5/60
Indianapolis 500 - Paul Russo/Stearly #24 (practice-Tony Bettenhausen has fatal crash May 12, 1961)
A non point event, both new Watson's sit on the front row, Hopkins Watson sets a new record for a closed course at over 170 mph. Roger Ward is the hired gun for the Wilke Watson, and he finishes 2nd to Jim Rathman in the Hopkins roadster in the 1st heat, and 13th after spinning out, in the 2nd Daytona race.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=496
Ward in the #5 outside of Rathman in the #16, 1959 Daytona over 170mph!
On to Indianapolis for the 500, Ward is jazzed, even though Rathman is the early favorite with his powerful win at Daytona. Sure enough, Ward's confidence was well placed, he wins his 1st Indy 500, with Watson as crew chief, and the new roadster is off to a grand start.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=497
Here are Watson, and Ward after winning the 500 in May of 1959, notice the Watson roadster has the new nose, and no rear push bar. The rear push bar would be standard on Watson roadsters from 1960 on.
Wilke orders a new roadster for Ward in 1960, and the #5 car becomes a 2nd Leader Card car, with Chuck Stevenson at the wheel.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=498
The Wilke team and their 2nd Indy entry #65 with Chuck Stevenson in the "wheel house"
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=499
Nice shot of the beautiful Watson roadster, 1960 Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stevenson had a bad Indy, he spun out of the race on lap 51.
Stevenson ran a couple more races in 1960 without much success.
In 1961 Wilke sells the Watson to Doug Stearly, it's painted bright red, #24 entered as the "Stearly Motor Freight Special". Indy veteran Paul Russo is hired to drive the Stearly Watson for the 1961 Indy 500.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=500
The Stearly Watson, Indy 1961.
Russo and Stearly struggle with the car, so Russo goes to see his old midget racing buddy, and close friend, Tony Bettenhausen for help. Bettenhausen is driving for Lindsey Hopkins, and are favored to do well, if not win the 500.
Tony can't turn down his old pal, and takes the Stearly out for a shake down, despite his Hopkins team trying to talk him out of it. Bettenhausen runs a few laps, appears to be coming to the pits, speeds up for a couple more hot laps, the car suddenly lurches toward the front chute wall, climbs the concrete wall, flips into the chain link safety fence, wraps itself in chain link fencing, posts, and catches fire, killing the legendary Tony Bettenhausen. Some say a bolt on the front pan hard bar fell out, and when Tony tapped the brakes the cars front axel pulled to one side of the car causing it to veer hard right. Sadly one of Watson's wonderful roadsters had taken the life of a auto racing giant.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=501
Crews start to remove the remains of the Bettenhausen, Stearly Watson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 12, 1961
Doug Stearly hauls the wreckage back to his shop in Pennsylvania, and it remains there till 1978, when Stearly delivers the remains to A.J. Watson and his shop in Indianapolis. The car gets restored to it's 1959 appearance. According to Gary Wayne's wonderful 2001 book, "The Watson Years When roadster ruled the speeday", the restored Watson was bought by Bob Rubin on Long Island, New York in the mid 80's. In 1989 Rubin put the car up for auction but it did not sell, there, but was sold to a classic automobile dealer in New York. In March of 1990 the Watson was acquired Pat Ryan and located in the Prisma Collection in Montgomery, Alabama. Wayne ends the chapter in his book regarding this particular Watson roadster saying, that several years later A.J. Watson himself, built an exact replica of the Roger Ward 1959 Indy winning car, for race car collector Tom Malloy in southern California.
Stats for the 6th roadster to come out of the Watson shops.
Daytona 50 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 13th - 4/4/59
Daytona 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 2nd - 4/4/59
Indianapolis 500 - Roger Ward/Wile #5 - start 6th, finish 1st - 5/30/59
Milwaukee 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 2nd, finish 13th - 6/7/59
Milwaukee 200 - Roger Ward/Wikle #5 - start 19th, finish 1st - 8/30/59
Trenton 100 - Roger Ward/Wilke #5 - start 3rd, finish 18th - 9/27/59
Indianapois 500 - Chuck Stevenson/Wilke #65 - start 9th, finish 15th - 5/30/60
Milwaukee 100 - Chuck Stevenson/Wikle #65 - start 6th, finish 20th 6/5/60
Indianapolis 500 - Paul Russo/Stearly #24 (practice-Tony Bettenhausen has fatal crash May 12, 1961)