MSHFA President George Levy talks with George Haddad of Fort Lauderdale's Fabulous Restorations about their amazingly accurate recreation of Team Penske's first race car, right down to its impossible-to-find Marchal headlights and gold-circle Firestone race tires. The original car was the first L88 Corvette and Penske's first race-winner when it won the GT Class in its debut at the 1966 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
In February of 1963, John Z. DeLorean sent a small Pontiac Tempest with a giant 421 CID Super Duty V8 to Daytona where it beat an all-star field of factory-supported ZO6 Corvettes and Ferrari GTOs, considered one of the greatest upsets in racing history. Eight months later, the Pontiac GTO was born. The original disappeared long ago, but Roger Rosebush of Rosebush Racing explains why he donated this stunning recreation to the Hall.
Each year, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America creates permanent bronze plaques for each new inductee. They are sculpted by renowned artist Gabriel Vinas, then poured at a foundry. Finished plaques weigh 13 pounds and are 15 inches tall. They're unveiled during our Heroes of Horsepower reception the night before the annual black-tie induction ceremony and go on permanent exhibit with those of prior inductees in the MSHFA museum.
In 1961, Art Malone drove this Chrysler Hemi V8-powered Kurtis Kraft Indy roadster to a closed course world-record lap speed of 181.561 mph at Daytona International Speedway. Malone and car-builder Bob Osiecki pocketed the $10,000 price that NASCAR's Bill France had offered to the first car to lap his recently opened speedway at 180+ mph, making it in turn the fastest racetrack in the world. The secret was the large wings Osiecki installed midship based on advice from Georgia Tech aerodynamics expert John J. Harper, a milestone in the application of downforce in racing. Special thanks to Don "Big Daddy" Garlits for loaning the car from his collection at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, FL.
This time-lapse supercut documents an amazing vehicle swap on the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America's "Sweep of Speed" museum exhibit at Daytona International Speedway. A skilled crew from Orlando-based Nassal used cranes and other equipment to complete the complex job of replacing existing vehicles with some new additions.
Get a sneak peek of what you'll experience at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, located on the Daytona International Speedway campus. It's the only hall of fame that honors the best in every major motorsports discipline, and the exhibits, vehicles and artifacts highlight the greats in Stock Cars, Open Wheel, Drag Racing, Motorsports, Sports Cars, Power Boats, Aviation and more.