$150.00 CAD
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Photo at Indianapolis Speedway of race car driver Billy Arnold and his mechanic Spider Matlock in their “Hartz Arnold Special. While driving this car in the 1931 Indianapolis 500, he had a serious crash, injuring both of them. Even worse, a tire came off and killed a young boy near the track.
Written on negative:
Photographer info LR corner (written on negative)
F.M Kirkpatrick was the photographer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Framed with glass.
8 ¼” x 10 ¼”
(Red text is an electronic watermark that is not physically part of the photo for sale)
Richard William Arnold (1905-1976) won the 1930 Indianapolis 500 after leading all but first two laps of the race, the most ever by a winner of the race. He won by a margin of 7 minutes and 17 seconds. He was 24 years old at the time. In 1931 he led 155 laps but crashed on lap 162 while holding a five-lap lead, suffering serious injuries along with his riding mechanic Spider Matlock. A tire came off the car, bounced over the fence and killed a young boy playing in his front yard outside the track. In 1932 Arnold led 57 laps before crashing on lap 59. He suffered a broken shoulder and riding mechanic Matlock suffered a broken pelvis. At the urging of his wife, Arnold retired from racing.
Harry Hartz (1896 – 1974) was an American auto mechanic and race car driver.
Hartz was badly burned and injured in a crash in 1927 at the Rockingham Speedway in Salem, New Hampshire, requiring him to spend the next two years in hospitals. The stock market crash of 1929 also inflicted heavy financial losses for him. He retired from racing to become a team owner and chief mechanic. Hartz bought a used 1927 Miller 91 front-drive race car, and built the car for the junk-formula by widening the chassis and installing a bored-out Miller 122 (151 cu in). Together with Billy Arnold as driver, the combination was successful, and they won the 1930 Indy 500 race and also took the national championship for the year
