Racing Legend Dave MacDonald, images, videos, Shelby Cobra, Corvette, Indianapolis 500 NASCAR

Dave MacDonald & Mickey Thompson in a 1964 photo op for the Ford powered Sears Allstate Special. Mickey's
cars were designed - down to the very last detail - to run on tiny 12" wheels. Inset is the 1963 Indy 500.

Many car owners and their drivers complained the cars were unsafe and USAC subsequently mandated a minimum
15" wheel requirement starting in 1964. The ruling devasted Mickey as his cars were designed and spec'd to ride on
low profile 12" tires which USAC had originally approved during the initial design phase. Thompson complained that
the ruling cost him $250,000 in design costs. Below: Dave testing the Thompson #82 car with the new larger tires.
The tests were discouraging and showed the car's new higher center of gravity caused severe handling promblems.

Mickey returned to his shop and took on the monumental task of redesigning the car from the inside out. Driver Dave
MacDonald was booked through mid March driving Cobras for Shelby and running the NASCAR circuit for both The
Wood Bros & Bill Stroppe, so Mickey had until then to come up with a new design. After Dave ran the Daytona 500
he flew out to the Brickyard in March for tire testing and an overall shakedown of the dramatically different looking
car.

The car now had a stunning new aerodynamically designed body with full fenders...a shock at the brickyard in 1964.
There were many adjustments made to the chassis and suspension all in an effort to resolve stability issues caused by
the new tire height. These tests revealed many problems still needed to be worked out.

Dave and the team returned to the track in May to begin a full month of testing the new design ... they would need it.

Dave MacDonald chats with friends Jimmy Clark (L) and Dan Gurney before taking the car out for his rookie test.
Despite of the handling issues, Dave passed with flying colors and became the first rookie to pass in '64

Mickey Thompson and USAC officials look on as Dave MacDonald removes his rookis stripe. Rookie test requires
driver to run 10 consecutive laps around the track at a consistent speed. A driver’s speed isn’t supposed to vary by
more than half a mile an hour and is increased in increments of 5 mph: 120 mph, 125 mph, 130 mph and 135 mph.
Many drivers have been sent home for more seasoning after failing to impress officials during their test. Veteran track
steward Paul Johnson and track saftey director Joe Quinn were overseeing testing that day and both men were very
impressed with Dave. “He laid’em in there very consistently,” said Quinn, “He’s a very good looking boy.”

All three drivers continued to experience floating in the turns, a situation made worse by enclosing the fenders. Drivers
said air was getting trapped beneath the fenders and causing the cars to jerk back and forth. In an effort to release air,
Mickey cut channels in the #82 car's fenders and sent it back out. Marginal results so the evolution continued.

Dave then flew back to Kent on May 10th to run the USRRC Championships for Carroll Shelby. He raced the King
Cobra to victory, outdueling Jim Hall and his famous Chaparral - this would be Dave's final victory. While at Kent,
Dave confided in his friends that Mickey's Indy car was still not right. Ken Miles & Bob Holbert both urged him not
to go back to Indy. Shelby told him he'd build him a better car for the '65 Indy and that he'd even call Mickey for him.
Dave said no!, I am a man of my word and I owe it to Mickey.

Adding further controversy to Mickey's cars was the discovery of a radical third-wheel steering arm connected to the
right rear wheel. Mickey was an innovator and while many of his concepts were revolutionary and well thought out, this
was more of an experimental solution to deal with the floating issues. By all accounts it was disconnected by race time.

In another attempt to provide more downdraft, the crew installed air vents in the hood to channel air through the nose
and out the top of the hood. The drivers felt a definite improvement was gained by this procedure.

Testing continued as they looked for the proper setup. The vents were tested with several nose cone configurations.

Thompson driver Masten Gregory openly critized Mickey's cars in the newspapers and after crashing the #82 car in
practice, he abruptly left the team. (The front fenders were still enclosed on his car at the time). Gregory then jumped
over to the Dean Van Lines team and tried to qualify their Offy powered car but wasn't able to get it up to speed.

Frustrated that modifications were not curing the handling ills, Thompson decided to return to an earlier open fender
design and ordered his crew to cut the fenders on all cars. This modification sacrificed speed but combined with air
vents and the right nose cone, it offered a setup that significantly improved the cars stability.

While improved, the cars were far from ready and the crew continued working feverishly to find the right setup. Mean-
while 15-time Indy 500 competitor Eddie Johnson lost control of the Thompson #82 car and smacked the wall.

Testing continued

Carb day and Jimmy Clark and Dave MacDonald are on the track practicing at the same time. Clark sees unusual
action from Dave's car and follows him into the pits. He urges his friend to "Get out of the car mate, just walk away".
Dave says he can't. He says Mickey is committed to getting the cars right and he's committed to Mickey's race team.

Despite lingering problems, Dave is able to qualify the Sears Allstate Special into the 1964 field. With an average
speed of 151.464 MPH, Dave was placed in the middle of row 5, in 14th position.

A few days later the crew finished repairing the #84 car and Mickey sent Eddie Johnson out to try and put it in the
field. Eddie did and qualified in 24th position, on the outside of row 8

After Johnson put the Thompson #84 car into the field Masten Gregory came back to the team and tried to qualify
the now repaired #82 car. He was unsuccessful however and neither he nor the car competed in the 1964 race

The field is set and the 33 best drivers in the world sit down for the 1964 Indy 500 drivers photo. Dave MacDonald
and Eddie Sachs are seated next to one another in middle of photo. Dave is wearing a sweater & tie

Official Indy 500 program signed by all 33 drivers

An hour before the race, broadcaster Chris Economaki sneaks in a word with Dave while Mickey Thompson & Dan
Gurney look on. Gurney started in row 2 in 6th position and finished 17th after completing 110 of 200 laps