Eddie Jackson in Indy 500?

[sramoa]

Hi all!

I searching info for this story:
I find a good site(Champcarstats) where described Eddie Jackson entered at 1960 Indy 500 but no car name no sponsor name..
And only one:Listed Hometown:Colorado State,and he died in 1983

Until this time I never heard this "story"

Somebody know for more info?

[Mitch G.]

Eddie Jackson was a 6 time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA) champion. He won 77 career RMMRA features, seveal United States Auto Club (USAC) national midge main events, a 1963 Big Car Racing Association (BCRA) sprint car title, a Intermountain Championship in 1958 (this was the midget club in Salt Lake City, Utah). He won the 1st annual Belleville Midget Nationals in 1978, and many other midget races all over the United States. In 1959 Indy car owner Bus Osborn supplied a car for Eddie to take his rookie orientation test in at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Eddie passed easily becoming the 4th Denver driver to pass the test, Johnny Mauro, Jonny Tolan, and Joe Giba being the others. Osborn planned to have Jackson run a champ car race in Milwaukee, WI. in 1960, but Jakson, running his midget in the Indiana, Illinois, area, had a hard midget crash in Peoria, IL, and was not badly injured but the accident seemed to take the wind out of his sails for running the national circuit. He spent the balance of his racing career in midgets in the western United States.

[sramoa]

Thanks MitchG. this very rare(for me) info..

If possible do you can write to me:what was the number this car(and what was the chassis)?-because didn't found the Clymer Yearbooks this info-and interesting for me about the Milwaukee race too.

And a little bit more info: Do you know when he was born?

[Thomas E]

This is the information that I have . . .


Ed "Eddie" Jackson

1931 - 1983

Eddie Jackson - "Mr. Smooth"

Ed "Eddie" Jackson . . .

Eddie was one of the finest and most talented midget drivers in Colorado. Ed was also renowned a craftsman and mechanic, master in both categories. Ed was every bit a gentleman, and a good friend and had a good following in the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA), and Lakeside Speedway.

Eddie raced from the 1950's to the 1980's, in open wheel cars. Eddie drove a few stock cars (modified) at Lakeside, most notable in the 50's the #14 Bob Jones Skyland Ford, a '32 Ford 5 window coupe, and a couple of times in the 60’s driving Jim Gordon's blue #63, a 30's something six cylinder clean looking Chevy 3 window coupe.

Eddie Jackson and the number 5 KK/110 Offy . . .

When Eddie purchased the 5 car from the retired Lloyd Axel in the mid to late 50's, Eddie made the 5 car even more prominent than it already was, the record speaks for itself . . . Watching Eddie Jackson drive the number 5 car was like watching one of the master's paint a masterpiece; and the sound of that came from the mumber 5 car Offy, was listening to a well directed and highly spirited performance of the "Lone Ranger" part of William Tell's overture.

Championships in the number 5 car - 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1970 in the RMMRA.

Eddie is ranked number 2 on the list of the RMMRA all-time main event wins at 77. Eddie Jackson like Lloyd Axel drove "Championship Big Cars" on various occasions.

Sadly, Ed Jackson passed away in 1983 from complications surrounding a February 1982 racing accident in a midget at Craig Road Speedway in Las Vegas. Ed Jackson's passing was a huge loss to the RMMRA and Colorado's racing community, Eddie is still fondly remembered by close friends and racing fans as "one of the best" to take the checkered flag. Eddie Jackson was a friend of mine and even after all these years I miss Eddie.

[Mitch G.]

I'm digging through some old books, I may be wrong, but here's what I think is the car. It's a Kurtis-Kraft 500 G-2 (left Hander), 3 of these were built by Frank Kurtis in 1957 (Kurtis built 14 Indy roadsters in total that year) , designed by Pat Clancy, Kurtis was instructed to put the engine on the right side of the driver and canted 18 degrees to the left. I found a 1959 entry for Myron Ozzie Osborn & Wm. R. Young, chief mechanic Buddy Shay (Denver midget legend). with driver listed as Bill Homeier, the car was too slow to make the 1959 Indy 500, it was 38th fastest at 130.928 mph. Red with gold and black trim #62, it was not entered in any other 1959 champ car races. Osborn tried the car again at Indy in 1960 with Paul Russo as driver, they moved the engine back to the right, sponsored by Bob Jones, still #62 Foster Campbell was listed as driver, and turned down by the speedway for lack of experience so Osborn named Eddie Jackson as driver, he to was turned down for lack of experiance, so this must be the car Eddie took his drivers test in at the Speedway in 1960.

[Mitch G.]

From the great book, "The Roadster of Indianapolis...The Glory Days 1952-1966" by Greg Littleton, and Bill Enoch.
Here's the photo history of this particular Kurtis Kraft, I don't know what happened to the car after 1960. In 1961 Osborn bought a used Watson Roadster, his cars were always #62.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1834
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1835
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1836
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=36&pictureid=1837

[sramoa]

Oh!Thank you these good infos!
This is a very good book I think-but in Hungary don't avaiable:(
Only stay one question for me:Which year was going in Milwaukee and a what kind of result understands there?(Possible 1960,but what was the result for him?-I never see this other info)

[Mitch G.]

I can't find that information, for sure, Osborn was intending to enter the car at Milwaukee in 1959 and 1960, but never filed an official race entry for either year, for the Milwaukee race.