posted 11-10-2007 04:43 AM               

Here is an illustration of astronaut Gordon Cooper's off-duty activities, which might be one of the factors that cost him a seat on a flight to the moon. Cooper is seen taking a test hop in a race car at Indianapolis on July 10, 1967.

posted 11-10-2007 07:31 AM               

Thanks for the picture!

posted 11-11-2007 01:36 AM               

Back in the 1960s, the F1 and USAC Indy car chassis were very similar as Lotus helped to start the rear engine revolution in the early 1960s when they brought their F1 drivers and specially built Lotus race cars to Indy. In 1963, only one rear engined Lotus entered the race and its driver, Jim Clark, finished second behind Parnelli Jones in a traditional front engine roadster. In 1965, Jim Clark would finally win in the Lotus and in 1966, there was only a single roadster that managed to qualify for the race (in last place).

Checking my references, I can't find anything for Gordo's car as a #76 car was not entered in the 1967 Indy 500. So I don't know who the full time driver of that machine was (it might be a repainted backup car for Gordo's test). Of course this test was after Indy, so who knows what team owned the car. The engine and exhaust stack arrangement looks like a V8 Ford, but I can't quite place the chassis since there were about 8 different indy car chassis being made that year.

BTW, for additional trivia (sort of space age related), the 1967 Indy 500 is most remembered for the car that didn't win the race, the infamous Paxton Indy turbine driven by Parnelli Jones and owned by Andy Granatelli. This car dominated the race, only to break three laps from the finish, handing the win to A.J. Foyt. Turbines were again tried at Indy in 1968 and again they dominated, only to break. By 1969, the rules had changed, effectively eliminating them from the competition. But imagine how different the 500 would be today if turbines had been allowed to compete after the 1960s.

As for Gordo's race experience, I believe he did manage to race in the 12 hours of Sebring in 1968. He wasn't the only astronaut to race cars as Pete Conrad also did some racing. If you pick up a copy of "The Real Space Cowboys" by Ed Buckbee and Wally Schirra, it has a DVD. On that DVD, there is an Apollo 12 parody film where they draw attention to Pete Conrad's race interest. Apparently it was also Pete Conrad who helped to get Bill Simpson started in the race safety business with nomex fire suits as he brought the material to Bill's attention. Many a race driver has had their life saved by Bill Simpson products over the years.

In more recent tradeoffs between space technology and race cars, Rusty Wallace also managed to get his hands on some of the heat resistant materials used for space shuttle TPS (specifically the AFRSI blankets) to help provide additional heat protection to the floorboard of his stock car. Rusty is an avid pilot and has cultivated some friendships among the military and astronaut pilot ranks. I seem to recall that one piece of AFRSI costed him 15 grand. The stuff was used to help keep his feet from blistering in the event that damaged exhaust pipes on the underside of a stock car might cause the floor around the driver to overheat (which often happened, burning the driver's feet in the process). Rusty doesn't drive anymore, but Penske racing is apparently still using the technology in their current NASCAR stock cars.

Edited by Jay Chladek on November 11, 2007 at 01:47 AM.

posted 11-11-2007 06:02 AM               

Ed

posted 11-11-2007 09:43 PM               

OTOH, Pete Conrad co-drove a Porsche 914-6 with two other drivers at the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring. The car lasted 112 of 200 laps, ending up 29th out of a 57-car field. There's a handful of pictures of the car out on the Interweb, including one where Conrad can clearly be seen wearing a goofy hat and talking with the crew.

And on another space-related note, Walter Cronkite (yes, *that* Walter Cronkite) co-drove a Lancia in the 1959 Sebring race. His team came in 40th, and Walter helped cover the race while he wasn't in the car.