Cars inside an airport?

That’s a regular thing at Indianapolis International Airport, where the Dowgard Special #2 – known as The Grey Ghost – has joined the line-up of classic racing cars on loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

Here’s some information about the car:

It was built in 1958-59 by Eddie Kuzma and was driven on one-mile tracks by Jim Rathmann, Ed Elisian, Bobby Grim, Jimmy McElreath and two-time National Champion Tony Bettenhausen, who won with it at Phoenix in 1959.

It became known as “The Grey Ghost” after a rush repair job in 1962 led to an appearance at a track in gray primer. Look for it on Concourse B near the exit to Civic Plaza.

The airport’s release also refers to the racing car as a ‘dirt car’ – and says that, according to the museum, other than the Indianapolis 500, most National Championship races held between the early 1930s and the late 1950s were dirt track “100-milers,” with the popular events still counting toward the national title as late as 1970. These dual-purpose, solidly built cars won the 500 in 1950, ’51 and ’52, and were still in the lineup as late as 1956.

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