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Joe Leonard's Pole winning Lotus T-56 on display at
the IMS Hall of Fame Museum. The Tomaso Collection)
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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...
