SUMAR SPECIAL

Probably Jimmy's most famous race ever was the one Indy race (1955) in which he was supposed to driver the Sumar Streamliner. A Kurtis-Offy 500D with body panels making it look like a Le Mans style sportscar. Poor Jimmy felt so claustrofibic within the bubble covered cockpit and so insecuer that he couldn't see the steering wheels move that he discarded all the streamlining equipment and ran the car as it was. Not the neatest lookings of cars anymore but he qualified and raced it. That Sumar streamliner could be added to the list in a thread off weirdest cars ever, in both 'dressed up' and 'naked' shape.

The Sumar Special streamliner, actually a Kurtis-Kraft chassis ('385-55') with a Meyer-Drake Offy 270 ('175'). Jimmy Daywalt drove the car (#48) without the streamlining at Indy in 1955, finishing 9th. Teague practiced in it (#47) the following year, but did not qualify. Feb. 10, 1959, Marshall Teague sets an unofficial closed course speed record of 171.821 mph Two days after his record run, Teague crashed fatally, trying to go faster still.