In the early 1960s, after a highly successful career racing competitive sprint cars of the Eastern United States Auto Club (USAC) series, racing car builder John Fray of Bridgeport, CT, decided to construct an ultra-light, innovative car for the National Championship series.

Basing his design on his sprint cars, he produced The John Fray Special, this traditional 'Upright' Championship car. However, Fray made every effort to lighten the car, increase its power and alter the suspension to be able to compete with the heavier Indianapolis Roadsters and Dirt Track cars.

The car made its debut at Trenton Speedway on September 22nd of 1963 driven by Bob Mathouser, a journeyman racer known for his talent in sprint cars. He failed to make the field in a race with 34 entrants including the winner A.J. Foyt, Lloyd Ruby, Johnny Rutherford, Don Branson, and other stars from Indianapolis. The next spring, the car was at Trenton again and this time made the field but experienced engine problems early.

Fray, working on a small budget with an underpowered car, decided to retire the car and eventually sold it to New York Supreme Court Justice Lester Gerard. He kept the car in its original condition. The car's engine was rebuilt and the car was prepared for vintage racing.