American auto racing builder
Edward Leo Kuzma (September 18, 1911 – October 12, 1996) was an American race car builder.[1] [2] [3] He constructed Troy Ruttman's winning car for the 1952 Indianapolis 500 .
Biography Kuzma was born in Portland, Oregon , where he was raised on a farm.[4] He moved to Vancouver, Washington , where he established an automobile repair shop .[5] In the 1930s, Kuzma had seen midget race cars at the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park , and had built and raced his own car.[4] A second car was fitted with a four-cylinder Offenhauser engine, making it faster than other local competitors.[4] He served in the United States Navy during World War II .[5] After he was discharged from the service, sold his car and moved to Los Angeles, California . [4]
Ruttman's winning Kuzma from the 1952 Indianapolis 500 In California he continued to build midget race cars.[4] He was hired by J. C. Agajanian to build the Agajanian Special,[4] which won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 , driven by Troy Ruttman .[6] A. J. Foyt won the Indianapolis 500 twice driving Kuzma's cars,[4] and Mario Andretti won in one of his cars in 1969.[4] [5] [7] Kuzma also rebuilt race cars.[8] In 1968, he bought a farm along with his wife Edna.[4]
A Kuzma-Offenhauser driven by Jimmy Bryan , which won the 1957 Race of Two Worlds Kuzma died in October 1996 of kidney failure in Tigard, Oregon , at the age of 85.[5] In 2003, he was posthumously honored in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum .[9]
Select Indianapolis 500 results Kuzma cars competed in the FIA World Championship (Indianapolis 500 only) from 1951 to 1960. They won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 with Troy Ruttman .[10]
Note: all cars were fitted with Offenhauser engines.
References ^ "Automobile Quarterly: Volume 36, Issue 2", University of Virginia ^ Newman, Claude (May 25, 1957). "Car Builder Works A Miracle". Valley Times . North Hollywood, California . p. 14. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ "Don Brown Builds, Drives IMCA Cars". The Tennessean Nashville, Tennessee . September 25, 1964. p. 41. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ a b c d e f g h i Easterling, Jerry (October 26, 1986). "Builder on track with cars". Statesman Journal Salem, Oregon . p. 59. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ a b c d Associated Press (October 17, 1996). "Edward Kuzma, 85, Builder of Race Cars". The New York Times . Retrieved July 11, 2022 .^ Curnow, Jack (May 26, 1953). "Indianapolis Drivers Hit 136.435 Average". Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California . p. 63. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ Simmons, Bill (November 9, 1969). "Andretti Reaches Crossroad". The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . p. 85. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ "Eddie Kuzma Builds Racers". The Kokomo Tribune Kokomo, Indiana . May 26, 1964. p. 47. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com . ^ "Eddie Kuzma". Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum . Retrieved July 11, 2022 . ^ "Driver Troy Ruttman 1952 Formula One Results". www.racing-reference.info . Retrieved 15 August 2018 . 
