History

This Indy roadster was built in 1961 by famous car builder Floyd Trevis using A. J. Watson's plans. The owner, Pete Salemi, campaigned the car at the Indianapolis 500 in 1962 and 1963 as the Gabriel Absorber Special with driver Allen Crowe. He finished 31st his rookie year and 27th the following year. In 1964, the car was sold and qualified for the Indy 500 as the Clean Wear Special with driver Ronnie Duman. It was caught up and extensively damaged in the horrendous 2nd lap crash that claimed the lives of Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald.

The remains of this car were eventually mated to the remains of the U.S. Equipment Special of which was a Watson creation driven by Johnny Rutherford in 1963 during his rookie appearance. As the majority of this restoration was made from the remains and parts of the original Gabriel Shock Absorber Special, Indianapolis Speedway historians claim this to be the original car. All that would be required would be to change the paint scheme to that of the original Gabriel Shocker.

THis vehicle is displayed in a replication of an Indianapolis Motor Speedway "Gasoline Alley" Garage. It is an extremely close duplication/replication of what the garage in "Gasoline Alley" looked like from 1915 through 1985. There were some minor modifications during those years but nothing Major. After that the garages were reconstructed out of concrete with modern safety concerns addressed.

The doors on our replication are actual doors that were used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for those 70 years. They are currently on loan to the Woodand Auto Display from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway through the efforts of 3 time Indy winner, Bobby Unser.

Just For Fun

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