Firsts and Lasts in Motorsports

[Stan Reid]

Very interesting. I was unaware the front engined dirt cars used the DOHC Indy motor. Am I correct that this would be a very expensive motor for this class of racing. I thought they simply used tuned push rod engines as in many other racing applications,

The front layout calls for a completely different exhaust system. Can you explain a bit further on the exhaust layout changes.

It was expensive but they were also running Offys at the time which weren't cheap either. As I understand it, they just put the left cylinder head on the right bank and vice versa so the exhaust ports were on the down side. I imagine they swapped pistons as well since I doubt that they were symmetrical. I actually saw one race in a Sprint Car on the half mile track at Knoxville, IL with Aldo Andretti (Mario's twin brother) driving. I think most of the front engine development happened after A.J. Foyt took over production of the powerplant.