Dean Van Lines Special
Name: Dean Van Lines Special
Year Built: 1955
Livery Year: 1957
Livery Year Driver: Jimmy Bryan
Sponsor: Dean Van Lines
Chassis: Kuzma
Engine: Offenhauser
This Dean Van Lines Special carried Jimmy Bryan to victory in the landmark 1957 500-Mile invitational “Race of Two Worlds,” a competition that challenged United States Auto Club (USAC) Championship drivers against their Formula One counterparts held on the steeply banked oval track at Monza, Italy. This Dean Van Lines Special was built in 1955 by craftsman Eddie Kuzma and contained a 274 cubic-inch Offenhauser four-cylinder engine. Jimmy Bryan briefly led the 1955 Indianapolis 500 near the halfway mark only to retire from the race with mechanical problems. Bryan finished third in the 1957 Indianapolis 500 just before departing for Monza. With Bryan leaving the team after the 1957 season, the car was turned over to 23-year-old “rookie” A. J. Foyt, who spun out on the 148th lap of what was his first of a record 35 consecutive Indianapolis 500 starts. The driver for the 1958 “Race of Two Worlds” was none other than the five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who qualified third, yet was eliminated after only a handful of laps. This Kuzma was still an Indianapolis 500 contender as late as 1961 with veteran Bill Cheesbourg running second for several of the early laps.