Friday, May 12, 2017

Local Gentleman's Idea Reminds Me of Roseburg's forgotten Art Pollard...



Joe Leonard's Pole winning Lotus T-56 on display at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum. The Tomaso Collection)
Was doing my Nightly News Crawl, and apparently looking for more local content, I dropped into the TNT', aka the Tacoma News Tribune's local News section via my NFB Newsline for The Blind telephone service, and Shuhzamm!

The following Headline immediately caught my Attenzione, and perhaps since I'd just reminded myself 'bout the obscure Anniversary fast approaching, I thought of Art Pollard, who always made time for the Kids..


As  once again, its Art Pollard Day here in Nofendersville, as hard to believe it's already five years ago since I was introduced to him posthumously...


As I was only vaguely aware of Messer Pollard's name due to his association with one of my most favourite racing cars, the unique Lotus 56 Turbine, which Pollard drove for Andy Granateli in the 1968 Indy 500 - five years before his unfortunate death during qualifying at Mother Speedway.

Having labouriously chronicled Lotus's participation at 16th & Georgetown in  my three part tome, unawares of their forthcoming reappearance that very same May...


As the three remaining Lotus 56 Turbine Cars made a fantastic, brief return trackside, nearly a half century later during the 2014 Indianapolis 500 Pre-race festivities.


Karmically, albeit sadly, I read the news over the weekend that IndyCar had raced in Avondale, at Phoenix International Raceway that Joe Leonard had died.

Ironically having chosen his Lotus 56 picture for this story, which he claimed the Pole aboard in 1968, as the multi-times National Champion on both two and four wheels was originally from Phoenix...