Joe Boyer (1890-1924), 1924 Indy Winner... [PIC]

Joe Boyer, scion of the head of Burroughs Adding Machine Co. was a bon vivant and sportsman. Stricken by the auto racing bug, he was reported to have financial ties to both Chevrolet and Duesenberg. For 1924, the Duesenberg brothers developed a special engine just for the Indy 500 with a new ruling limiting engine displacement to only 122 cid. The result was a supercharged (first for Indy) DOHC straight 8 in a slick speedster body and Joe was to drive one of two cars entered. Joe  leapt out to a commanding lead until supercharger problems cause him to retire the car. Later, when the co-driver, running fourth, came in to pit, Joe was told to take over and "burn it up!".... and he did, overcoming all competition by lap 177 and never looked back. His driving career as well as his life span was cut short later that year when he died in a crash at Altoona Raceway in Pennsylvania.