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CARL KIEKHAEFER
By Duane DeButts
Reprinted from the
1977 Spring Issue of the Chrysler Volume IV Number 1
300 Club News
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Carl Kiekhaefer probably thought that Chrysler
built the B just for him. He might have been right. When’s the
last time you saw a Chrysler powered ’56 Dodge or a B with 355
big ones? His cars were built to dominate the track. The B engine
would put out 55 more horsepower than the ’55 300 and the
suspension has been tuned so that the B out-handled any of the
competition. A race ready B not only would stomp any other American
stocker, but one broke a Jaguar’s record on a sports car
course
His team at the
beginning of the season was almost the same as ’55. The Grand
National champ, Tim Flock, was supposed to be the big gun, but a new
man, Buck Baker, proved himself by beating Flock and AAA champion,
Frank Mundy, at Phoenix the first race of the season. (It’s
said that Kiekhaefer was happy to see that the fourth place car was a
very distant fourth place car
Mr. K’s team of
two 300 B’s and one B powered Dodge annihilated the best the
factory teams had to offer. They won 22 of the first 29 races and had
the longest winning streak in NASCAR history: 16 straight races.
After losing the race that ended the streak, Mr. Kiekhaefer showed
the stuff he was made of. He stopped by and congratulated the winning
car’s crew on their pit work.
A gentleman he was.
Complacent he was not. A few races later, after the rules were
juggled to give the competition a chance against Mr. K, he showed up
at the technical inspection with a list of his competitor’s
violations. He pointed out that he was not allowed to use these
modifications, but his competitors were. They said, “That’s
about right.” He had to walk back and tell his team to carry
on.
Buck Baker, after Tim
Flock quit, carried on to easily win the NASCAR championship. He and
Carl got on very well. Carl gave Buck steak instead of hamburger and
Buck gave Carl his second championship.
Mr. K loved racing and
hated to lose. He got a little tired of people saying that “Chrysler”
won the races rather than the “Mercury Outboard” cars
won. He bought one Ford and built it up for just one race. He put his
best driver, Buck Baker, in his Ford and tried to beat the Ford
factory teams. Everyone thought he was crazy. He won, of course.
After the race the head of the factory Ford team started hanging
around the car and answering questions. Mr. K blustered over and told
the curious onlookers that the Ford team and that man didn’t
have a darn thing to do with the winning car.
After that, what new
mountains could Carl Kiekhaefer see to climb? He had succeeded beyond
his wildest dreams. Running nearly stock Chrysler 300s and 300Bs, he
had beaten over and over the somewhat more modified Ford, Chevy,
Pontiac, and Mercury factory cars. The battle between makes never
materialized. The battle was between two giants: Detroit and Carl
Kiekhaefer. Against all odds, Carl had won. Small wonder that he hung
up his racing cap for good and left.
I would like to have
ridden around in his shirt pocket during one race in those golden
glory days. Everyone that watched him saw him in a fierce
uncompromising competitor. They recognized a rare flame that
frightened some and fascinated others. People that try to write about
that fire always fall short. After twenty years armchair racers read
in awe of his determination, expertise and sportsmanship. We should
all be thankful he chose to plaster “Mercury Outboard Motors”
on the best car available: the Chrysler 300.
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