1953 Indianapolis 500

In June of 1952, Chapman S. Root and Donald E. Smith of Terre Haute, Indiana, purchased the Bardahl #18. The Bardahl #18 was a 3000 series Kurtis Kraft owned by Ed Walsh and driven by Sam Hanks that finished 3rd in the 1952 Indy 500. Chapman and Donald brought the car back to Terre Haute and hired John H. Blouch as Chief Mechanic and Jimmy Daywalt as the driver. They painted the car navy blue with a white stripe down the middle and used the number #48. On May 30, 1953, Jimmy started in 21st in the Indianapolis 500 in the #48 Sumar Kurtis-Offy. He finished the race 6th, earning $7,696 and the Rookie of the Year (ROY) honors.