1956 Kurtis Kuzma KK-500

This car has a most interesting history, having been driven at various times by both Rodger Ward and A.J. Foyt. In the 1956 Indy 500 race, Rodger Ward qualified this car 15th, and finished 8th. After the 1956 race, the car was sold to Bell Lines Trucking owners Fred Sclavi and Jon Amos, who put Eddie Russo in the car for the 1957 Indy 500 race. Russo qualified for the race but was knocked out on the single-file pace lap. Fred and Jon then sent the car to Monza, Italy, for the second and last 'Race of Champions.' When French veteran Maurice Trintignant 'felt uncomfortable' at 150 mph on the high banking at Monza, the duo tapped a young rookie to drive in the remaining races - the rookie was A.J. Foyt. After Monza and prior to the 1958 Indy race, Sclavi and Amos had the car extensively reconfigured and rebuilt by Eddie Kuzma, and upon completion, it was taken to Daytona for the start of the 1959 USAC season. It crashed in practice and did not make the race. The car is very original, having been placed in storage after its speedway career ended, rather than the all-too-common conversion to 'super-modified' status, a fate of so many good Indy cars.