@pete-banchoff14 years ago
I love this artwork of Barney Oldfield. You may already know this, but the first time Mr. Oldfield drove a car was a couple of hours before the 'rematch" race with Alexander Winton. Henry lost his nerve and wanted no part of driving anymore and Barney was brought in for the race. Ed Huff, who built the ignition system for the car, taught Oldfield how to drive and work the controls by holding on behind the seat and explaining everything to Oldfield on the fly. He was a quick study because ol'999 ran away from Wintons car a few hours later. BTW, Ed Huff had the nickname 'Spider" and was Ford's riding mechanic when they raced "Sweepstakes". He hung off that car during the first race against Winton and operated the timing advance and monitored the "total loss" oiling system while hanging on the running board.
@pete-banchoff14 years ago
The picture below shows how Spider Huff positioned himself when Ford drove the car Sweepstakes. 999 didn't have a riding mechanic. Notice the Steering wheel on the 1901 car and the Tiller bar for the 1903 car.
I love this artwork of Barney Oldfield. You may already know this, but the first time Mr. Oldfield drove a car was a couple of hours before the 'rematch" race with Alexander Winton. Henry lost his nerve and wanted no part of driving anymore and Barney was brought in for the race. Ed Huff, who built the ignition system for the car, taught Oldfield how to drive and work the controls by holding on behind the seat and explaining everything to Oldfield on the fly. He was a quick study because ol'999 ran away from Wintons car a few hours later. BTW, Ed Huff had the nickname 'Spider" and was Ford's riding mechanic when they raced "Sweepstakes". He hung off that car during the first race against Winton and operated the timing advance and monitored the "total loss" oiling system while hanging on the running board.
The picture below shows how Spider Huff positioned himself when Ford drove the car Sweepstakes. 999 didn't have a riding mechanic. Notice the Steering wheel on the 1901 car and the Tiller bar for the 1903 car.