Page 8 - speedway19560129

· • • .......................
THE "LITTLE DYNAMO"
Today Walt has learned you have to drive with your
head as well as your foot to make a championship race
There' s one record the car driver. "There's no substitute for experience any way
1
Little Dynamo" from you look at it," he points out. "You have to know how to
Long Be a W a It react to any kind of a situation that might arise.
Faulkner, holds that no "And how can you learn what to do if you haven't
one else wishes to experienced it on the race course."
challenge.
Faulkner admits he probably "got religion" during the
Walt wound up on '47 campaign. Early in the year he was involved in one
1
his head" 14 different of the most spectacular and terrifying crashes in Gilmore
times during fhe 1946 Stadium annals, locking wheels at the start of the back-
racing season. Accord- stretch and flipping seven times as his car went end
ing to Walt and Racing over end all the way down the backstretch, fianlly stop-
Impresario J. C. Aga- ping in the next turn.
janian, that mark is On that occasion, he wasn't so lucky. For days following
likely to stand for a the accident Walt hovered between life and death, and
1
long time. The miracle
of it all is that Faulkner only a couple of racing some of the medical reports had h'im "near death." "In all
the long months of slow recovery, fhere was too much
dates because of the 14 flips. time to think," states Walt. "Fina'lly, I decided I would
Now a more mature and experience race driver, Walt
ranks as one of the greats of his chosen sport. He currently have to 'back off' once in a while."
has his sights set on winning top money in "Aggie's" Faulkner, a 5 ft. 4 in., 135-pound jocky, feels, at 37
initial presentation of the season, a 100-lap USAC National years of age, he still has time to win the biggest race of
Championship midget auto event at Bonelli Stadium in all - the "500". He has come close on several occasions.
Saugus, Sunday afternoon (Jan. 29). Little Walt set the Indianapolis qualifying record while
Walt, who finis hed fiffh in fhe 1955 Indianapolis 500- driving for Agajanian in 1950 and repeated again with a
1
miler, will be up against many of fhe same drivers whom new mark in 1951. In the latter race "we had it won"
he battl ed on the Indiana brickpath, including Johnnie more fhan halfway throug·h the race when a piston broke
Parsons, Andy Linden, Rodger Ward and Johnny Boyd. and he went to the sidelines.
Walt laughingly looks back on 1946 as he recollects Walt right now has his choice of three different mounts
his collection of abrasions, contusions and burns. "I guess for the '56 Indianapolis outing. He's spending some time
I was a little wild then. It just didn't seem right to 'back checking, because he'd like to get everything working for
off' the throttle then." him for once.
·····• ,I'.•.--•.•·················--······--········--··························································································

SWANSON
HART FULLERTON
SHOCK ABSORBER CO.

1525 NORTH IVAR
New and Used Cars HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

"All my championship-winning cars have used
2 Locations in Santa Monica
Swanson Shock Abs,orbers." - J. C. Agaianian

1601 Santa Monica 2121 Wilshire Blvd.

De Soto HUDSON, RAMBLER
Plymouth HORNET, WASP, MET-
ROPOLITAN, M.G.
Come in and Drive
AUSTIN HEALY,
with ite
ALPHA ROMERO
"REAL GOOD FOOD"
EXbrook 5-9949 EXbrook 3-7229
CLARA and JOHN DAVIS

·•·•·••·••·•·•·•••·•••••••·•·••••·••••••••••·•••••••·v,•••··•••·••••••••••••••••••••••••··