Frank Lockhart - Stutz Blackhawk

No Frank Lockhart wasn't Superman, he couldn't stop a speeding bullet nor could he leap over high buildings, but he could sure as hell build a race engine and drive a race car.

Above, unloading the car from the train after arrival.  Below left, Malcolm Campbell, Frank Lockhart and Ray Keech.  Below right, The unfortunate remains of the Stutz Blackhawk,  after the fatal accident.
The stunningly streamlined Stutz Blackhawk on show prior to  runs at Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach 1928  With Stutz Motor Car Company sales sagging, Frederick  Moskovics felt he needed someone to stir up some publicity and  interest in the Stutz car. Frank Lockhart was just that person.  During 1927 Frank Lockhart established a world record of  164.28 miles per hour on the dry lakes of Muroc, CA; in a car  powered by a tiny 91 1/2 cubic-inch displacement engine. This  established Lockhart as one of the most competent and skilled  drivers in automobile racing.  Lockhart's success was due largely to his inherent engineering  ability and the ability to make changes necessary to make a  racing car go faster. The specially built Stutz "Blackhawk  Special" in which Lockhart was to make the assault on the  world speed record was a product largely of his own creation  and was considered a masterpiece of engineering.  The most recent holders of world speed records were  established by massive cars, powered by two or more  aircraft- type engines, having piston displacements up to 4,900  cubic inches. The Stutz "Blackhawk Special" was in every  respect much smaller, being powered by one 16-cylinder  engine (two banks of 8 cylinders, set at an included angle of 30  degrees), and having only 181 cubic-inch displacement.  During the trial run at Daytona Beach on Feb. 22, 1928, at a  speed of approximately 225 m.p.h., the tires apparently struck  an irregularity in the sand and catapulted the "Blackhawk  Special" end over end into the sea. Lockhart was rescued from  the water by spectators, and was uninjured except for a few  bruises and traumatic shock. The "Blackhawk Special" was  retrieved and sent back to Indianapolis for repairs. The car was  rebuilt and returned to Daytona in April 1928 for the next try for  the world speed record.  On Wednesday April 25, 1928 all was ready for Frank to make  his attempt on the 122-183 cubic inch speed record. On his first  run through the measured mile Lockhart broke the existing mark  into little pieces with a record shattering run of 198.29 miles per  hour.  On the return run something, possibly a sharp seashell, cut a  tire on Lockhart's flying missile. The Stutz Black Hawk Special,  made In Indianapolis, became a flying object, crashing down on  the sands of Daytona Beach killing the uneducated 25 year old  genius instantly. Frank was gone, but the mark he set in his  record shattering one way run for the mile stood for 39 years.  Lockhart's tragic death was devastating to the motorsports  community, especially to the Stutz Motor Car Company, which  declared a halt to all its racing activities.

Frank Lockhart - born in Cleveland on April 8, 1903 and raised in southern California - arrived in Indianapolis in 1926 in a cloud of obscurity and left a champion under a cloud of rain.

He didn't exactly explode on the scene that May in 1926 in Indianapolis. No Frank was signed in simply as a relief driver for the Peter Kreis' eight cylinder supercharged Miller, which was supposed to be driven by Peter Kreis himself.

Eyes began to open when the 23 year old rookie Lockhart persuaded Benny Hill to let him take Benny's car out to "warm" it up. Much to Hill's discomfort Lockhart proceeded to "warm" the car up at speeds faster than Benny had been able to do in practice.

And this was the first time Frank Lockhart had ever driven a race car on a paved track. Oh Frank had earned a reputation on the West coast as hot dog at Ascot and other West coast dirt tracks, driving his home-built, hopped-up junkyard dogs. But Indianapolis was new world to the uneducated mechanical genius to be.

Peter Kreis became ill shortly after watching his "relief" driver's performance in Benny's race car and the young Mr. Lockhart was assigned the seat in Peter's race car.

He proceeded to astound the experts even more when he set a new one lap speed mark for the Indianapolis squared oval on his first qualifying attempt on anything but dirt. Frank blistered the bricks on his first lap with a record speed of 120.919 miles per hour before shredding a tire on his second lap and ending the run. Mechanical troubles also cut short his second try.

Deciding wisdom was the better part of valor, he qualified on his third and final try at a very sedate 95.780. Which was good for the 20th starting spot.

But when the flag fell on race day, which was delayed until Monday, May 31, due to rain, Frank was a rocket ship suddenly turned loose. By the fifth lap he had moved from his 20th starting spot to fifth and by the 32nd circuit he had moved in to second place.

The race was stopped on the 71st lap by rain but when the action resumed an hour and five minutes later Lockhart quickly moved into the lead.

From that point on it was all Frank and when the rains again returned at the 400 mile mark Frank Lockhart went into Victory Lane with almost a two lap win over second place Harry Hartz. The young Mr. Lockhart became the fourth driver to win Indianapolis in his rookie year at the Speedway.

Harry Miller was so impressed by Lockhart's performance he offered to let Frank drive for the rest of the season, but Frank had a better idea.

He bought the Miller outright. With some "Lockhart Touches" the Miller became faster and more dependable and Frank became the scourge of the board tracks.

Later, after buying a second Miller, he became almost unbeatable, setting track records almost everywhere he raced. One day at the old North Randall mile dirt track in Cleveland he set 101 dirt track records.

He set new board track marks at Charlotte and Salem and three new records at Atlantic City, including the all-time qualifying record at 147.229 mph. This speed was not exceeded until Jim Hurtubise qualified at Indianapolis with a speed of 149.056 mph in 1960.

In all Lockhart ran on the boards 22 times, he won eight and finished in the first five 14 times.

Oh, and just for the hell of it Lockhart took one of his little 91 cubic inch Millers to Muroc Dry Lakes and set a Land Speed Mark of 174 mph.