The Great Depression affected industries on a global scale. The automobile industry was not shielded from this catastrophe; many prominent and well-established businesses were forced to close their doors forever. The racing industry was the same; people were unwilling or unable to participate as either an entrant or a spectator as they had done prior to The Great Depression. To re-stimulate racing, Indy created the 'Junk Formula', which was aimed at attracting low-cost racers and home-grown specials to participate. The rules were more relaxed and the response was spectacular. In 1933, a total of 42 cars lined up for top honors. This caused other problems or at least fueled problems that were already existent, mainly safety concerns. From 1931 through 1935, there were 15 fatalities. The problems were many, such as faster racing speeds, track conditions, and an increase in drivers. To help alleviate this problem, some of the bricks in parts of the track were removed and the area was repaved with tarmac.

The supercharged 91 cubic-inch Millers and Duesenberg's of the 1920s had dominated the Indy racing scene. They were powerful, advanced, and well refined. The race cars were now able to achieve speeds topping 124 mph. To bring competition back to Indy, and to reduce the speeds, the Junk Formula was established. This helped bring back many production passenger car producers, as many of the racing specials were built atop of passenger car chassis.

Ever since the creation of the automobile, the design, and mechanical components have continued to evolve and improve. Fuel sources, engine sizes, suspension, weight distribution, aerodynamics, braking, and more have all been experimented with and undergone rigorous testing and development. It is only suitable that at the local racing circuit, eager individuals were continuing this development in efforts of securing themselves a podium finish. To compete in races during the early years of the automobile, all that was required was a vehicle that could compete. Those who had more money often had more resources at their disposal and could take their vehicle to the next level in terms of power and performance.

At the time, the Ford Flathead V8 was an excellent resource to utilize. Parts were in abundance, power was plentiful, and it was fairly reliable. To fuel the fire, Fred Frame appeared in a 1934 Ford ad declaring 'I picked a Ford V8 for 1933… it brought me home in front. It takes a lot of automobiles to average 80.22 miles per hour for 200 miles over a course like that.' Alone, this may not have meant much, but coming from the winner of the 1932 Indianapolis 500, it was a solid endorsement.

by Dan Vaughan