Brenn Kurtis Offie by Douglas Rentsch
In 1959 when the Formula Libre race was scheduled at Lime Rock Park the organizers envisioned the best oval track drivers vs. the road racers. Roger Ward was expected to bring his Indianapolis 500 winning Watson roadster. Instead at Chris Economaki’s suggestion he drove a 10 year old Kurtis Kraft Offie midget owned by Kenny Brenn of New jersey. The baby blue midget was perfect for the 1.5 mile mostly right hand turn Lime Rock track. Brenn’s crew was easily able to set up the car using adjustable torsion bars. The little 120 cu in Offenhauser with 15.1 compression ratio gave the Kurtis Kraft an excellent power to weight advantage. Ward beat all comers in a surprising victory. The painting is the Brenn Offie in gouache on paper 14 x 20.