1966 Lola T90 Indy Car

Jackie Stewart won the 1963 Formula 3 championship in a Tyrell earned him a trial position with Colin Chapman driving a Lotus 33, which led to Formula 2 Lotus for 1964. The following season, he reached the pinnacle of Formula motorsport competition behind the wheel of an F1 BRM car. He achieved his first championship victory at Monza and placed third in the World Drivers' Championship that season. In 1966, he won the Tasman Series in a BRM but struggled in Formula 1 competition due to the lack of reliability of his BRM H16 F1 car.

Texas oilman John Mecom fielded three Lola T-90s at the 1966 Indianapolis 500, only the second time Lola had competed at the brickyard, giving driving duties to Stewart and his BRM teammate Graham Hill. The third car was piloted by Rodger Ward. Lola had enjoyed rapid success in various forms of motorsport, including a great career in sports car racing, and they hoped that their efforts at Indianapolis would be equally fruitful.

Jackie Stewart drove the Ford-powered, Bowes Seal Fast-sponsored Lola T-90. It was one of just three Lola T-90s built and one of two equipped with Ford's Four-Cam V-8 engine. It had a 4,200cc displacement, dual overhead camshafts, a mechanical fuel injection system, and delivered an estimated 425 horsepower at 8,000 RPM. It was backed by a four-speed manual transaxle with hydraulic disc brakes at all four corners. The suspension was independent with coil overs all round.

Stewart was the fastest of the team in qualifying, placing his car 11th on the grid with a four-lap average of 159.972 mph. During the first lap of the race, 11 of the 33 entrants were eliminated from competition due to an accident. The race was red-flagged as the mess was cleared, a process that took approximately 90 minutes. After the race restarted, Stewart's car performed admirably, taking the lead on lap 152 when Lloyd Ruby's Eagle was black-flagged for leaking oil. Unfortunately, with just eight laps to go, Stewart was forced off the track after losing oil pressure due to a damaged scavenge pump. The overall victory would go to his teammate, Graham Hill, who won the Indy 500 in his first attempt, with Stewart placing 6th, though confusion with timing and scoring of the race kept the results in question for some time. Even though Hill had won at Indy, Stewart was named the 1966 Rookie of the Year, a testament to the quality of his performance.

Following Indy, chassis 90/2 was raced in USAC events throughout the remainder of the 1966 season with American Red Ball sponsorship and Al Unser Sr. behind the wheel. Among the accolades were three 2nd Place finishes and 3rd in the Langhorne 150, earning Al Unser Sr. a 5th place finish in the 1966 USAC championship. John Mecom entrusted 90/2 to Stewart in October of 1966 at the Fuji International Speedway, where he would drive to victory in the Fuji 200 over Bobby Unser's Gurney Eagle.

Around 1967, the Lola left Mecmom Racing, and by 1970 was in the care of Red LeGrand, who sold the car to Phil Henny around 1973. While in his care, the paint was stripped from the car's tub where it was discovered that it had the American Red Ball livery underneath, causing speculation that the car may be Graham Hill's Indy winner from 1966. Mr. Henny pursued extensive research to discover the car's origin, eventually becoming convinced that it was the Graham Hill winner and cosmetically restored the car to carry the corresponding no. 24 livery, though it was just a rolling chassis and not fitted with an engine.

Around 1983, the car was sold by Henny through Leo Gephart to David Uihlein, who in 1994 had Mr. Paul Freehill install a proper four-cam Ford engine, but it was not made to run. The following year, 90/2 was sold to the current caretaker as the Graham Hill Indy 500 winner. The new owner undertook his own extensive research process to further document its provenance. His research uncovered it to the car that placed 6th at Indy and won the Fuji 200. This led to a restoration, changing the car's livery to the proper no. 43 Bowes Seal Fast Special. The car's mechanical components were restored at this time and made to run for the first time in over four decades.

This race car has been in the care of its current owner for twenty-six years. In 2021, it was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach where it had a pre-auction estimated value of 1,000,000-1,400,000. The car would leave the auction unsold.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2021