Lockhart doing an 147.7 mph lap on the Atlantic City board track
two
enemy historians and Lockhartphiles, Griffith Borgeson
and Mark L. Dees, used to exhaust themselves
arguing about who knew the most about Frank Lockhart.
One thing
they agreed upon was that he was born on April 3, 1908, in
Ohio, probably in Dayton, where the family’s next-door
neighbor was alleged to be the father of the Wright
brothers of Kittyhawk fame.
Wright Sr. was said to be a
fire-and brimstone evangelical preacher; additionally he
was an inventor with his own modest garage laboratory
and was young Frank’s introduction to science.
In comparison to Campbell’s four-ton Bluebird,
Lockhart’s own LSR contender, the Stutz Black Hawk, was a
toy, weighing less than 3000 pounds and able to fit within
the wheelbase of Bluebird.
Its construction process had
been complex. Lockhart first grafted together two Miller
straight-eights to create a blown 16; then he visited the
Duesenberg works and carried off some of its best talent;
finally, he hit up the struggling Stutz Motor Company for
sponsorship cash.
By early 1928, his streamliner was ready
to confront Campbell on the beaches of Florida. Campbell
turned a critical eye on the Black Hawk and tut-tutted that
she was so lightweight she might sail out of control; and
sail she ultimately did, on two occasions. The second, on
April 25, 1928, was the end of Lockhart.
Lockhart’s powerful legacy
continued exerting itself. Sold by his widow at a 1928
estate sale, his matching pair of custom-built Millers
remained so technically advanced that they succeeded in
dominating the Indy 500 and the U.S. national
championship for the next two years. And, of course, his
Atlantic City numbers stood fast through the next 33.
http://joescalzowriter.com/PDF'S/Genius%20versus%20Destiny.pdf
http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2017/06/148-mph-in-1927.html