Indianapolis 500

DEAN TRANFORMS A STREET LEGAL INDY CAR

"Driving it down US 31 for 150 miles to the Indy was a scream,
let me tell you." — Dean Loucks

A few years ago, Dean and a friend were talking about driving to work in a two seater car. The conversation naturally led to, “why not a one seater?” and, both being from Indiana, led even more naturally to “why not an Indy race car?!” (Street legal, of course…)

As these things go, the question soon became an obsession, and Dean found himself determined to purchase an Indy race car. After searching online, he found what he was looking for in Wisconsin – a car that had been Eddie Cheever’s Indy backup in 2000. And, as fortune would have it, it was already street legal!

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The car arrived at TAOD in fairly poor condition and in what looked like its original racing paint. After logging over 1,000 hours customizing the car, it was finally what Dean had envisioned – edgy and classy – a true piece of art.

Indy-Bound

On his way to the 100th Anniversary Indy 500, Dean saw flashing blue lights behind him. The officer explained that he’d received so many calls about a real race car driving on the road, he had to no choice but to pull him over. Dean showed the officer the modifications that made the car street legal and they both shared a laugh. It seemed that even driving the speed limit, Dean’s new car just looked fast.

Dean was released back onto the road and made it to the Brickyard in time to take a lap on the track before the 100th anniversary race began. Interestingly, the Dallara DW12, driven to a win by Alexander Rossi in that race has just come on the market. Hmmm… Might be time for a new project...