1955 Ford Ranchwagon
Larry Wheat, owner
Sumar
Racing began in 1952, the result of a parnership between two friends and racing
enthusiasts, Chapman S. Root and Donald E. Smith. As their wives were also
involved in the racing endeavor, the team name, Sumar, was derived from a
combination of Susan, Mr Root's wife, and Mary, Mr Smith's wife. Based in Terre
Haute, Indiana, the partners initally bought a KK3000 roadster that had raced at
the 1952 Indianapolis 500 with Sam Hanks at the wheel. At the inception of Sumar
Racing, a gentlemen's agreement was established between the partners stating
that if either of the two found themselves unable to afford the high degree of
attention and responsibility involved in the venture, the other partner would
buy his share. At the time, Mr. Smith was heavily involved in other
business ventures and development investments, he found himself in just the
position of being unable to set aside the enormous amount of time that is needed
to run a racing team. It was at this point that Mr Root assumed all management
responsibilities for the team.
As the first order of
business,
Jimmy Daywalt was hired to start the 1953 race season. He finished
sixth at Indianapolis that year, and with such a strong showing, put Sumar
Racing on the map. The following year at Indy, Daywalt found himself starting in
the middle of the front row. In 1955, Johnny Boyd joined the team driving
the No. 39 roadster, noteable in the vintage racing community as one of the cars
involved in the fatal Vukovich wreck. It was also in 1955 that Sumar Racing
acquired an official transport vehicle, a 1955 2-door Ford Ranchwagon.
It
was promptly painted Sumar colors; dark blue with a 12 inch wide white racing stripe
running from bumper to bumper. The interior was equipped with the factory option
Western branding iron and horseshoe motif. Un
der the hood resided a 272 cu. in.
Y-block V-8 which was later equipped with a McCulloch supercharger. When Sumar
went to Europe in 1957, the Ranchwagon, a trailer, and a roadster were all
shipped to Italy by boat. At the Monza race that year, Pat O'Connor drove
Sumar Racing No. 12 and the team utilized the Ranchwagon to tour Italy, France
and Monaco in addition to using it to transport the race car.
The Ranchwagon remained the workhorse of Sumar Racing until 1960 when the team dissolved. John H. Blouch, Sumar's Chief Mechanic and Root associate, bought the vehicle. He used it as a family car until it was passed down to his daughter, Mollie Blouch Wheat. The Ranchwagon was primarily garaged until 2002 when the Wheat family initiated a show restoration of the vehicle. The focus of the work was to return the car to its original Sumar state including custom graphics, custom paint and restoration of the original matching roadster trailer. Mollie's husband, Larry, coordinated and oversaw the job. With the help of Bill Grohovsky, heading up the power train restoration, and brothers Bill and Ric Wheat, who handled the body and interior work, the refurbishment was complete in less than two years.
Toward the end of the process, work in the garage became reminiscent of an episode of American Chopper as Larry was invited to show the car and trailer as part of an exhibition at the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Finishing the restoration just one day before it was due in Indianapolis, the Ranchwagon and trailer were displayed next to a 2005 semi trailer car hauler in order to illustrate 50 years of progress in Indy race team transportation. While on exhibition in Indianapolis, the restoration crew was honored with comments from track and IRL president Tony George.
The Sumar rig is possibly the only example of an original 1950's Indy race transport in existence. Following the Indianapolis exhibition, the car was also placed on display at the Sumar Classic race in Terre Haute, where Don Smith viewed the restoration for the first time. Larry said, "Mr. Smith got to see the car and thought it looked very nice. Coming from a founding father of Sumar Racing, I was thrilled! All I need now is a Sumar roadster to put on the trailer although Mollie says that I can just keep on dreaming. I'm proud of what it stood for; quality and honesty... and especially the dark blue car with a 12 inch white racing stripe down the center."
Courtesy of John L. Wheat