Sam Hanks, 1957 Indy Winner

[Thomas E]

Of all the roadsters that ran at IMS my favorite is the 1957 lay down #9, Belond Exhaust Special, driven by Sam Hanks. Sam was also a favorite driver, as I had seen race midgets, and big cars; the big cars that I saw drive was the black number 3 Bardahl Special; among the midgets was a Roy Richter built midget, black number 5, that Sam drove.

Jimmy Bryan would win the 1958 Indy 500 in the same car. Along with an external roll bar, another noteable change to the now number 1 car, was an elbow guard added between the right rear tire and body to keep elbows and arms away from the tire.

There has also been produced an 18th scale die cast of the 1957 Belond Exhaust Special from Carousal 1.


Sam Hanks, #9 Belond Exhaust Special, 1957 Indy 500 Winner :checker:

[Mitch G.]

Thomas, this car has been restored to the way it appeared in 1957, and resides in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. George Salih designed it, and Quin Epperly built it, Sandy Belond a auto exhaust shop owner backed the project. The Offy was only 18 degrees from laying flat on it's side. Salih overcame oil scavenging problems, and the thing really took off, it only weighed 1680 pounds, light for a Indy roadster at the time, and was only 21 inches high at the top of the hood. Here's some shot's of the car, a color shot of it in the pits at Indy in 1957.
http://www.autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1307
From hero to zero, the Salih roadster wins Indy 2 years in a row, then in 1959 with Bryan at the wheel it finished 33rd, dead last only making one lap having a clutch fail, it was painted the same in 59' only it was number 6 that year.
Leonard Faas bought the car for the 1960 season.
Here's how it looked as the King-O-Lawn spl. in 1960 with Red Amick at the wheel.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1309
Here's a page from the Greg Littleton book, "The Roadsters of Indianapolis - The Glory Days"
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1308

[Thomas E]

Thanks Mitch. I have been to IMS Museum several times, and always take pictures of the 9 car. There are several others old up-rights that I like as well, but the 9 car is always at the heart of my like for the roadsters.

[Thomas E]

I wanted to include this about Sam . . .

Sam Hanks
1914 - 1994

My all-time National favorite, drove midgets, Championship "Big Cars", which is now "USAC Silver Crown" series. I remember seeing Sam Hanks race midgets in the late 40’' up through the early 50's. Watching Sam in his black #5 Offy skillfully out duel and beat the best of his AAA comrades, was like watching one of the masters apply paint to the canvass.

Sam's Championships -
1937 West Coast AMA Midget Championship.
1946 URA Blue Circuit Midget Championship.
1949 AAA National Midget Championship. Earning $50,000, a lot of money for that time period. The midget race meets were not just a once a week campaign, but in the style of "Barnstorming" several times a week. Sam did compete a couple of times that year at Lakeside Speedway in Denver, Colorado, as Lakeside Speedway was a stopping off point while going from coast to coast for a lot of the midget drivers.
1953 AAA National "Big Car" Champion in the #3 Bardahl Special on the AAA National "Big Car" Championship Trail*.
1956 USAC Pacific Coast Stock Car Championship.

Sam’s thirteenth attempt in the Indianapolis 500 -
1957 Indianapolis 500, averaging 135.601 mph, in a time of 3:41:41. Immediately after bringing the car to Victory Lane, Sam announced his retirement from driving.
Sam qualified 13th, at the end of lap one Sam was in eighth and commence to move up steadily through the field, Sam began to finally took control of the race by lap 40, the rest is history. Sam’s Biggest threat was Paul Russo in the number 54 KK/Novi V-8, Paul started 4th and finished 24th; Sam And Paul dualed back and forth for several laps, and by 58 the powerful Novi began to fade back and would be denied the win for another year.

The #9 Belond Exhaust Special (Experimental) the winning car that Sam drove, was wrenched byGeorge Salih (pronounced Sally), built by Quinn Epperly, it was experimental and radical in design, powered by 270 four cylinder Offy, the engine was mounted 14 degrees from horizontal on its side, giving the car a low silhouette, 21" at highest point of the hood, and 36" at highest point of the headrest.

Sam's Honors -
Sam was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1984.
He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1998.
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000.

Sam's retirement from driving brought him into USAC to serve as the Director of Competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 through 1979. Sam drove the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 a record 6 times, 1958-1963.

Sam Hanks will be remembered as a fair but determined driver and a true sportsman. Sam Hanks passed away on June 27, 1994. And was survived by his lovely wife Alice, who passed a way a few years ago.



* The AAA National "Big Car" Championship Trail seasons of 1951 and 1952 included the now gone and forgotten Centennial Park horse racing track. Centennial was a one mile flat track located at West Bellview and South Santa Fe in Littleton, Colorado. Centennial suffered heavy damage and loss of horses in Platte River flood of 1965, it reopened again, and eventually was lost to future developments in the area.


:checker: