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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stewil |
Posted - 02/27/2011 : 19:45:00
This is a model that I built of Roger Penske's 1962 Zerex Special race car based on a wrecked single seat F1 Cooper T53's chassis that he was able to acquire.
Roger Penske coined (?) the phrase "unfair advantage" in racing circles and this car exemplifies this spirit.
After a careful reading of the rule book Penske noticed a possible loophole, that being that sports cars needed to have two seats in order to compete, however the size of the seats was not specified. Keeping the single seater mid car placement would not compromise the Cooper chassis's balance and theoretically would improve performance compared to the other sport cars it competed against. Therefore if a little seat was placed beside the drivers central one the "letter of the law" could be met. Roger queried the SCCA and they approved his idea, so he had the car built, basically an F1 car with a sports car body. The little seat was beside him but unseen under a metal cover.
When he showed up for the first race with the Zerex Special Penske's fellow competitors were not amused and promptly protested the car - and they lost. Imagine their surprise when he popped off the cover and squeezed into the seat, knees almost touching his chin, but seated. Penske raced and won, and won, and won some more. The rules were rewritten for the next season to close the loophole. The car was then sold, modified to comply with the new rules with two true seats, and it continued to win.
Would have liked to include a picture of Roger sitting in the little side seat that is in a book I have somewhere but have yet to locate. Anyone able to post it?
Creativity personified. Note the fuel venting tubing attached to the roll bar
Note the wiring running down the frame tube inside the cockpit, unsure of the actual color as my reference photo was B&W, red looks appropriate though.
Amongst friends. You can see the cover over the passenger seat next to the central driver's seat.
This picture and text was from Jerry Entin's post concerning the Zerex Specials in the The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board > Forums > The Nostalgia Forum, if you desire more info click the link:
http://forums.autosport.com/lofiversion/index.php/t70093.html
"Walt Hansgen in what was to become the Zerex Special"
This explanation comes from Michael Argetsinger:
"As you know the original chassis for the Penske Zerex Special came from the crashed Cooper T53 purchased new by Briggs Cunningham and raced in the 1961 USGP at Watkins Glen by Walt Hansgen. In this photo by Ron Nelson you see the car (chassis # T53 F1-16-1) just before Walt drives it to the grid for the start. Also in the photo is the Cooper T53 (T53 F1-14-61) of Roger Penske. On the exit of the loop on lap 15, Olivier Gendebien lost control (said to be an oil patch) and spun off the track and then came back across the track directly in Walt's path. The Cooper was launched over the Lotus and through the air. The Cooper lost its left front wheel and suspension and vaulted the guard rail, landing in a field on its remaining wheels. The wrecked Cooper -- less engine -- was sold by Cunningham in the paddock to Roger Penske. It was this chassis that Penske developed into the original Zerex Special. So this photo shows the car in its original form before being converted to the single-seat sports car. All of this with a great deal more detail is covered in my book Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing."
photo- Ron Nelson
copyright 2009 Ron Nelson
Cheers and Happy Collecting,
Steve |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stewil |
Posted - 02/19/2012 : 04:58:06
Barton,
Your pictures brought this bit of history to life.
Thank you so much for your post and the insight shared concerning the photographer Dave Friedman.
Cheers and Happy Collecting,
Steve |
| Bartbrn |
Posted - 01/29/2012 : 12:25:16
From "Pro Sports Car Racing in America: 1958 to 1974" By Dave Friedman available at Amazon.com and all good booksellers!
Hope these help -- please check out Friedman's books, he was team photographer for Shelby, then Chaparral, then I don't know whom, but how he got any sleep is beyond me. In 1986, Dave Friedman became the first and only Still Photographer to be voted into the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. His motorsports books alone are legion and legends: during the Golden Age of American Motorsport, from the '50s to the '70s, and even to present-day ALMS GT racing, he is a major photographic talent up there among the gods: Jesse Alexander, Peter Coltrin, Bob D'Olivo, Warren Weith, Julius Weitmann, Richard von Frankenberg, Geoffrey Goddard, Bernard Cahier, Rainer Schlegelmilch, and Louis Klementaski. He has the skills and technical chops, and the most important attribute a racing (or any kind of) photographer can have: he's always at the right place at the right time.
Hope thes pics help with your "s-seater" Penske Cooper Zerex Special.
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