VINTAGE AUTO RACING ASSOCIATION

ron6827 · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 9

Chuck Daigh was 84 when he passed away April 29th after a battle with
heart and respiratory problems. A memorial gathering was hosted by
his family on May 31st at his shop in Costa Mesa, CA - with things
like Isotta Fraschini heads kicking around, the huge oil cooler of
his hydraulic dynamometer and bits and pieces of his latest project,
a scratch-built flathead dry lakes record car. By "scratch built,"
that means EVERYTHING: the heads, the block, the crank, the rods
("...no inserts," one cognoscenti said, proffering a billet
connecting rod; "he's running right on the bare aluminum!" Highly
polished and dead-nuts on, of course.) Dick Guldstrand was heard to
remark, "I'd like to have a shop like this when I grow up."

The Lakes car, having done over 200mph in development runs, was on
display along with others from Chuck's long history. Most notable was
the Troutman-Barnes Special, the mid-'fifties tube-framed flathead-
powered precursor to the Scarabs, which Chuck both had a hand in
building and drove with great success, sent over by owner Michael
Sheehan from Hawaii.

Chuck's older brother Harold, himself a WWII Corsair pilot, kicked
off the tributes by briefly recounting Chuck's war record. Chuck was
shot three times and made combat jumps into both Italy in 1943 and
Normandy on D-Day in 1944. A later look at Chuck's Bronze Star
citation revealed that as a member of the 517th Parachute Infantry of
the 13th Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium
in 1945, Chuck was wounded but nevertheless advanced under German
sniper and machine gun fire with his BAR (Browning automatic rifle -
the 'Scarab' of small arms!) and "...silenced the machine gun."
Harold said that Chuck always carried a Jeep distributor rotor in his
pocket, to better avail himself of his officer's vehicle which
typically was made "theft-proof" by its' removal !

With only a High School education, Chuck was a better welder than
most welders, a better machinist than most, and effectively an
automotive engineer. His competitive career ran the gamut from
running a track roadster on the Southern California bullrings after
the war; building and navigating big Lincolns in 1952 Carrera Pan
Americana, early roadracing at Moffett Field, Terminal Island and
Willow Springs; NASCAR efforts and running a Thunderbird, 1st ever
over 200mph on the Daytona Beach sands in 1957. The well-publicized
Scarab years followed, Patron Lance Reventlow eventually naming Chuck
to the #1 driving slot where he distinguished himself and the equipe
with outstanding performances and wins from coast to coast. In latter
years, he was involved in offshore boat racing as engineer and co-
pilot, and most recently had restored two of the DOHC desmodromic-
valved F1 Scarab engines, which he had originally built for Lance's
ill-starred 1960 Formula One effort.

Dan Gurney was most appreciative of Chuck as standard-bearer for the
generation that won WWII ("I was Korea," he said parenthetically) and
always looked up to him, mentioning his air of mystery and penchant
for keeping his speed secrets pretty close to his chest. Dan and
Chuck won Sebring in 1959, in a factory Ferrari 250TR/59 which they
shared with Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien after the latter's
similar mount failed after 77 laps. Dan had prepared some
notes, but in the mild Costa Mesa onshore sea breeze he remarked with
some frustration "These notes are harder to drive than a Ferrari!"
Ron Cummings gave an excellent recounting of the highlights of
Chuck's long career as a driver, including running 7th fastest in an
outdated, 3rd-owner Scarab at Laguna Seca in 1961 Pacific Grand Prix
amidst Moss and Gurney-driven Lotus 19s and such. The owner lettered
on the dash "What a difference a Daigh makes!"

Dick Guldstrand considered Chuck Daigh to have been his mentor. Dick,
like Chuck, started on the bullrings, driving midgets and sprint
cars, "…but I found myself going to more funerals than parties." he
said. Chuck "…impressed everybody when he won the Times Grand Prix…"
in 1958 from Phil Hill, and in 1967 at Le Mans as carburetion man for
the winning Carroll Shelby Ford GT40 effort, Chuck made the time to
help Dick and Bob Bondurant with their Corvette entry for Dana
Chevrolet by totally rebuilding the troublesome braking system.

Phil Remington shared memories of their time together at Lance
Reventlow's Scarab operation, and Bob Bondurant was there as well to
add his accolades, saying that Chuck was "…always very quick… and a
fantastic mechanic." Bill Pollack, the original Cad-Allard racer,
was in attendance, as was the legendary Ed Iskenderian, looking short
and ebulliently Armenian, with his wife of 50 years, Elwanda, keeping
him out of trouble. Septuagenarian Jerry Grant, the roadracer who
made a successful transition to USAC and was the first champ car
driver to break the 200 mph barrier, was on hand as well. Although
he's lost a lot of weight, he is still tall and came on two wheels -
not a wheelchair, but a hot road bike!

The catered Mexican and deli food was outstanding, and all Chuck's
scrapbooks were out to be thumbed and reminisced through. The last
trophy Chuck won, the hugely impressive Thomas Senter Memorial Trophy
was on display, awarded at the 2007 Monterey Historic Races for his
drive in John Miller's 1957 Ford Thunderbird for the best performance
by a Ford-powered car, by Ford's Public Affairs Manager, John
Clinard. Being a perpetual trophy, it will move on to other hands
this year, and John and his lovely wife Linda were on hand to award
the Daigh family a plaque commemorating this, Chuck's final
achievement in a life well lived.

Rick Hayden
Burbank Breakfast and Automotive History Society (BUBAAHS)

clayt · Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Yorba Linda, CA

Found some pictures while googling Chuck Daigh.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/563696150knJEmr?start=0