Leo Krasek knew how to attract fast drivers. During its heyday, Leo's car read like a "who's who" of early dirt track racing. Among many others, Buck Whitmer, "Fritz" Tegtmeier, "Cowboy" Hardy, and Mike Salay all took turns at the wheel of Krasek's 4-cylinder Sprint Car. During his life, his car carried the numbers K4, 23, 58 and 20.

Everything but the chassis on this car was built by Krasek himself, and the car housed several different engines during it's racing career. Slim Rutherford claims the original engine was a Overland Block fitted with a refined Fronty S.O. head.

During the Twenties, at a race at Crown Point, Leo's Handcrafted car, piloted by "Cowboy" Hardy, turned third fastest time, won the second heat and won the main event over cars like Frank Swigert in Arthur Chevrolet's D.O. Fronty and Gus Schrader in the Kinsey D.O. Fronty.

The 1931 and 1932 season was the cars most successful season winning the Eastern Championship with Bryan Saulpaugh as the driver. 

By the end of the 1946 Central States Racing Association 100-lapper in Mitchell, Indiana "Fritz" Tegtmeier was two laps ahead of the entire field driving this car. That same year at Jungle Park Speedway in Rockville, Indiana, Gus Schrader won in his Miller over Mike Salay in this car by just inches!

Krasek also had his cars compete on the coast in the winter with Al Gordon and Bob Carey, appearing at Legion Ascot in California.

Leo Krasek held several patents for his automotive designs and would often got to court to battle "infringements" by other mechanics on his ideas.

Leo Krasek was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1997.

This car is currently on loan to the Museum of American Speed.


Sources:
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
Open Wheel Magazine, August 1983

On loan from the collection of Dan Price