1950 Kurtis Cummins Diesel Special

As early as 1931, Clessie Cummins installed his diesel in a 'Cummins Diesel Special' race car, hitting 86 mph at the Indianapolis 500 race. Driver Dave Evans became the first driver to complete the race without making a single pit stop, finishing 13th and relying on torque and fuel efficiency to overcome weight and low peak power.

In 1952, Fred Agabashian won the pole at the Indianapolis 500 race with a turbocharged 6.6-liter 'Cummins Diesel Special,' setting a record for a pole position lap speed of 138.012 mph. Don Cummins and his chief engineer Neve Reiners recognized that the low center of gravity of the flat engine configuration (designed to lie beneath the floor of a bus) plus the power advantage gained by the novel use of Elliot turbocharging would be a winning combination.