Early 1950’s

Jim Seely, Mechanic for the Schmidt Special

Jim Seely was a mechanic on the Schmidt Special.  He would walk around and take pictures in the pits and around the track.  This was the early 1950’s.  Manuel Ayulo (a lifelong friend of Jim’s), was his driver until he was killed in practice.  Johnny Thompson and Marshall Teague were later drivers.  Jim put the quick change gears in upside down once and the car barely qualified for the field.  They knew what the problem was (the valves were smacking the tops of the pistons) and the car was quite competitive after that.