All month long, our racing guru David Scoggan is blogging LIVE from the track! Check back here regularly for a dose of Dave’s wit and whimsy.
This awesome machine is the last of five different Cummins diesel-powered entries to compete in the Indy 500 between 1931 and 1952. Pictured is the ’52 car, driven to pole position by Freddie Agabashian at a 4-lap track record of 138.010 MPH. The engine was an inline 6-cylinder of 401 cubic inches and was the first Indy 500 entry to use a turbocharger, now found on every current Indy Car. The turbocharger also proved to be the Diesel’s Achilles Heel, as tire rubber sucked up from the track surface gummed up the turbo and caused retirement after 71 laps.
