Offutt's 1953 Races

by Captain Jerry Dalton

Just a year ago, on Sunday July 5, 1953, a throng of 60,000 thrill-seeking fans ... the largest crowd ever to witness an outdoor sports event in Nebraska ... jammed Offutt Air Force Base to watch the running of the National Sports Car Races on the base's runways and taxistrips.

Undaunted by the forecast of possible thunder showers, the big crowd started arriving at 7:30 a.m., over an hour-and-a-half before the start of the first event. Air Policemen, working in cooperation with the Nebraska Safety Patrol and with local police units, kept the stream of cars coming on the base moving at a steady pace through four gates. Once inside the field, ticket collectors gathered their ducats, program salesmen hawked their booklets and other Air Policemen efficiently directed the cars into the several large areas set aside for free parking.

The first race began promptly at 9 a.m. as scheduled. General Curtis E. LeMay, commander of the Strategic Air Command and host to the visiting drivers, dropped the green flag starting the 22 cars on the 17 laps making up the 51-mile race. At the end of the first lap, Andy Rosenberger, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a Jaguar XK-120 held a slight lead over Tom Newcomer, Overland Park, Kansas and Ernie Erickson, Chicago, both in XK's. By the third lap, Newcomer had moved into the first position followed closely by Rosenberger, Roger Wing, Bethesda, Maryland, third, and Erickson, fourth.

Pit stops were necessary for some of the cars beginning with the fifth lap; but the leaders maintained their same relative order. Rosenberger continued to push Newcomer by staying right behind him; however, on the 13th lap a blow out finished Rosenberger's chances of even grabbing the second place honors.

Maintaining an average of 69.78 mph and hitting a top speed of 106 mph through the speed traps, Newcomer led the pack to get the black and white checkered flag and clinch the first place trophy. In second place was Roger Wing with Ernie Erickson, third.

Race number two for all classes of modified sports cars began at 10:30 a.m. with Jack Ensley, Indianapolis, getting away first in a Cad-Allard. He was closely followed by a pack of Ferraris, Jaguars, Siatas and MG's, 27 in all. By the time the cars had completed the first lap a hydramatic Cad-Allard J2X driven by Fred Warner, Birmingham, Michigan, was in first place. Other Allards, driven by Carroll Shelby, Dallas; Walt Gray, Kansas City; and Ensley, were in second, third and fourth places respectively. On the second lap, position changed with Shelby moving into first place, Warner in second, and Jack McAfee, Manhattan Beach California, in a 4.1 litre Ferrari, third. For the next seven laps, Shelby and Warner fought a private duel for the lead position. McAfee pressed the leaders hard but remained in the third slot.

At this point in the race, the smaller cars in Class F were led by John Gordon Benett, New York City, in a modified MG-TD. Bob Salzgaber, Columbus, Ohio, in a MG-TD was second and Chicagoan Rees Makins driving an OSCA was holding down third place.

On the ninth lap, Warner took the lead from Shelby while McAfee continued in the third position. Ten laps later, on the 19th, mechanical troubles forced both Warner and McAfee out of the running and Shelby coasted in for the victory, posting an average speed of 75.694 mph and a top run through the electronic traps of 135 mph. Finishing second overall in the 75-mile event was James Hall, Houston, in a Cad-Allard, while third place was clinched by Frank Larson, Decatur, Illinois, in a Jag C. Bill Lloyd, Greenfarms, Connecticut, driving a 2.7 litre Ferrari scored a first for the Class D and John Benett's 66.76 mph average enabled him to take top honors in Class F. The Class H crown was won by Charles E. Brown, West Monroe, Louisiana, in a Siata.

Between races the large crowd was entertained by the marching men of the Strategic Air Command Band under the direction of Chief Warrant Officer Bennie Maniscalco. Ned H. Dearborn, president of the National Safety Council, presented General LeMay and the Strategic Air Command a special award for outstanding efforts in lowering the accident and fatality rates of the command. The Concours d'Elegance featured a variety of automobile antiques that brought tears to the eyes of many of the oldsters in the crowd. Besides the older models, some of the newer ones were shown including one of the very few Tuckers ever produced.

The hot and sunny July weather made the many conveniently located concession stands a popular gathering place for both spectators and participants. Before the day was over 11,000 bottles of soda pop had been consumed as had 25,000 hot dogs and 1,000 cold chicken box lunches. Nine lost children were returned to their parents. The medics reported no serious accidents or other mishaps; although it is an accepted fact that many people realized the next day that the sun can and does BURN!

The third race, a 100-mile event for modified and production model sports cars under 1,500cc, got off to a fast start at 12:30 p.m. with Jim Simpson, Wadsworth, Illinois, taking an early lead in his new OSCA. Benett in an MG-TD ran second, followed by Makins in third and Salzgaber in fourth. Simpson managed to hold on to his lead for the rest of the race, and during the early stages a lively duel for the second position developed between Benett and Salzgaber.

Simpson's blistering top speed of 120.5 mph was too much for the rest of the pack and he finished the race better than a full lap ahead of the nearest car. Second place went to Benett whose MG-TD limped in on a couple of cylinders after the oil line ruptured and soaked the ignition system. Salzgaber placed third with an average speed of 66.4 mph for the course. Honors in the Class F production category went to Bill Fleming, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and Bob Samuelson, Dallas, scored a first in the Class H modified with his Siata.

Race number four, the feature event, produced an outstanding collection of sports car power including seven Allards, eight Ferraris and more than a dozen Jaguars. Starter Terry Field dropped the green flag at exactly 3 p.m. and the 33 cars roared off on the first of the 67 laps comprising the 200-mile event. On the first lap around, Jim Kimberly, Chicago, held down the first spot in his 4.1 litre Ferrari. Kimberly was closely followed by Dale Duncan, Prairie Village, Kansas, in a Chrysler-Allard. During the second lap, Duncan overtook the Ferrari and moved into first place while a newcomer to the racing business, Masten Gregory, Kansas City, held down second place in a modified Jag XK-120.

When the cars came around the third time, the 21-year-old Gregory had grabbed the lead and was setting a hot pace for the cars following him. Averting what could have been a serious accident, Jack Ensley kept his Allard in perfect control when a rear axle broke causing him to lose a wheel and catch on fire during the third lap. Gregory increased his lead to 19 seconds the fourth time around and on the fifth lap he was ahead of Warner by 23.5 seconds. Gregory and Warner continued to hog the two top slots until the ninth lap when Carroll Shelby in the Mexico Ferrari took over the second position, forcing Warner into third place. Dr. John Urbas, Westville, Illinois, was in fourth place with a Jag XK-120C. Kimberly rode in the fifth place and his chief mechanic, Marshall Lewis, Neenah, Wisconsin, held on to the sixth spot in a 2.7 litre Ferrari. The leaders maintained that order for the next 15 laps.

Gregory held on to his lead by 15 seconds and on the 25th go-around he lapped the entire field through the fourth place man Urbas. A slight trace of rain fell about this time; however, it seemed to have little if any effect on the drivers. The stiff wind was another matter though and the ever-changing direction gave the drivers some headaches and slowed down their clocked speeds through the traps. Pouring on additional coal, Shelby managed to get within 7.5 seconds of Gregory on the 32nd lap but the young Kansan refused to relinquish his first position. Walter Gray's Allard lost an axle on the 40th lap, and he went out in much the same manner as Ensley had on the third lap.

A pit stop for new tires and a relief driver in Shelby's Allard gave Urbas an opportunity to take second place on the 40th lap. Kimberly moved into fourth; Warner was fifth; Chuck Hassan, Cincinnati, sixth in a Jag C; Lewis' Ferrari seventh; Duncan eighth; Fred Wacker, Chicago, driving General LeMay's Le Mans Cad-Allard JR ninth; and Bill Lloyd tenth in a Ferrari.

Warner's Allard suffered mechanical troubles on the 46th lap and was forced to retire. By the 53rd lap, McAfee was back in second place with Kimberly running fourth behind Urbas in third place. On the 64th lap, Kimberly jumped ahead of Urbas and captured the third slot. Urbas regained the third position on the next lap when Kimberly had difficulties and pulled into his pits.

At the end of 67 laps, Gregory was flagged in as the winner after holding the lead for 65 straight laps and averaging 76.666 mph throughout the entire event. His top speed through the traps was clocked at 131 mph. The Mexico Ferrari, driven by Shelby and McAfee, finished second and Dr. Urbas was third in his Jag C. Fred Wacker's 72.782 mph average gave him the nod in Class B and the Class C production honors went to Tom Newcomer driving a Jag. Marshall Lewis took first place in Class D modified in Kimberly's 2.7 litre Ferrari with an average speed of 72.679 mph.