The Origins of Charlie Scott
Stock Car Racing History
Charlie Scott was a talented drag racer who competed on both coasts. His talent and friendship with the Flocks strongly influenced Carl Kiekhaefer's decision to hire Charlie for the 1956 Daytona Beach race. Carl was obsessed with winning, and putting Charlie in one of the 1955 Chrysler 300s was validation of the man's driving talent. Otherwise, Carl would not have bothered. He only wanted to win, period. According to the dynamometer logs, Carl's 1955 Chrysler 300s were producing over 330 horsepower. Carl revolutionized how stock car racing was conducted during the 1950s. Along with Charlie Strang, Carl invented the wide base racing rim (still in use today) and the pleated paper air filter element. Race engines were hand built and dyno-tested around the clock before hitting the tracks. Carl even developed his own cam profile checking machine, ground his own cams and tested a multitude of stock and custom grinds.The man was decades ahead of his time when it came to stock car racing, but is virtually unknown today. Charlie Strang has filled in many of the gaps of what we know about Carl Kiekhaefer's 1954-1956 stock car racing program.