The “Pat Clancy Special” to 6 Indianapolis wheels 500
The first car with six wheels, la Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser KK500G, also known under the name of “Pat Clancy Special”. It was designed with 6 wheels to be able to get more traction on the tracks of the time, and that more rubber is in contact with the track.
She participated twice in Indy 500 :
– in 1948 the hands of Billy DeVore, n°19, skilled in 20th position, she finished 12th with 190 tours.
– then in 1949, bearing number 57 and driven by the “rookie” Jackie Holmes, qualified 17th, after she renounce 65 towers following a break in transmission and will be ranked 22nd.
Pat Clancy urged other cars 4 wheeled Indy 500 in 1950 and 1953, piloted by Jimmy Davies.
The racing chassis included a deion rear suspension with two tandem rear axles connected and an independent suspension by a short, U-shaped drive shaft. on the torsion bars and the rear gearbox. The idea was to distribute the driving axle on four wheels, this drive system was designed by Goossen. The Pat Clancy was therefore a 6×4. The 6 wheels weighed down the car 250 lb compared to other competitors. Suddenly it was much more robust than the others. The rims were made of magnesium, the first in Indy
Pat Clancy owned a small Memphis-based trucking business, in Tennessee, and it was one of his usual drivers who gave him the idea of tandem rear wheels for better traction on the circuit. Some spectators laughed at him when the car entered the track, and no one was laughing after Billy Devore qualified her for the race over 200 km/h. Devore led the 6 wheels in 12th place in 1948, but after Holmes had to give up on 65 towers with a broken drive shaft. In 1949, Pat Clancy replaced his 6 wheels by something more conventional to 4 wheels !
the official photo of the “Pat Clancy Spl” from 1948
Jackie Holmes 1949
driven by the “rookie” Jackie Holmes
The car is built on a Kurtis racing chassis.
In the hands of Billy DeVore
Find all these old photos and others,
on the Facebook page : Pat Clancy Special Six Wheeler
A “copy” performed in the years 2000 by the famous chief mechanic A.J. Watson (82 years 2006)…
You will notice also some notable differences with the original…
Camber is not at all the same !
A model made by an artist
A system Version 24
Built by hand !
And in 3D ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuW2TIKETEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6gQ9PqdQFc
