Vintage Machines

by Ken Handman

Bill Krause races a "birdcage" Maserati in 1962.

The good old days of sports car racing, were very different from the way things are done today. One of the most important differences was the fact that most of the top drivers had a thorough knowledge of the workings of the cars they drove. Some participated in the mechanical work and others built or modified their own cars.

Palos Verdes' Bill Krause is a good example of one of the "hands on" drivers of the era. Another important difference was that a good driver could show-up at the track pulling his race car, with no sponsor logos on the sides, on a flatbed trailer, behind a pickup truck.

With a few spare parts and a tool box, he could have as good a chance at the checkered flag as anyone, Krause did this as well.

He finished third and was named the best driver at the very first professional sport car race held in Southern California?

Krause grew up at dirt race car tracks watching the cars that his father built being raced by the likes of Andy Linden and Walt Faulkner.

He started racing a midget car that he built himself at 18 and quickly adapted to the unique style of dirt track racing. "Dirt tracking" is the technique whereby the car is thrown into a turn at high speed and the steering wheel becomes far less important than the throttle in maintaining a power sliding drift through the bend.

This unique style of driving became an important factor when he changed over to sports cars. Not many other drivers had the experience of sliding cars through turns instead of merely steering through at the edge of tire adhesion.

Bill's mother insisted that he stop racing the dangerous little open-wheel cars on the dirt tracks. As an alternative, the family decided that he should race full-fendered sports cars in road circuits. In 1965, Bill's dad, Arnold Krause, ordered a D-type Jaguar from the factory, after the cars had produced decisive wins at the 24 hours of Le Mans (France) endurance races.

Bill's future brother-in-law, Von Dutch, the legendary pinstripe artist of hot rod fame, painted the D type. Then Bill took it to Willow Springs Raceway for a few days of testing.

Saturday of that week he entered his first sports car race at Bakersfield. He qualified 13th on the starting grid and worked his way through the pack to finish first.

The D Jaguar had made its reputation from excellent handling and superior brakes, not from a mighty engine. In fact, the 3.4 liter in-line six was underpowered for the short road courses in California, so Bill modified the engine to 3.6 litres and boosted the horsepower.

That helped for a while, but eventually he installed a Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine and captured some solid first place finishes at the most prestigious events, when the overstressed car held together.

In 1968, he raced the first Birdcage Maserati on the West Coast. This was a new concept car; it was very light, due to its intricate birdcage-like small tubes welded together instead of a solid steel frame.

Also, it had a very powerful overhead cam V8 engine. This light weight/high power combination suited Bill's "dirt track" style of driving perfectly.

The result was dominant wins in many races. Later, he was very successful in Lotus 19s and also drove the famous, locally built Ole Yaller IV, a parts bin car developed (some say cobbled together) by Max Balchowsky, one of the most colorful characters of the '60s and '70s racing scene.

Bill decided to end his racing career in 1966.The record shows that in 27 races, often against some of the top grand prix drivers, he had 13 firsts, seven seconds, three thirds and three fourths. At the time he had a growing Honda motorcycle business that needed his attention. Later, when Honda introduced their cars to the U.S., Bill was one of the first ten Honda car dealers in the states.

In 1979 Bill sold the motorcycle business and in 1989 he sold the car business. He is now retired in Palos Verdes Estates and says that he just plays golf, manages his investments and with his wife Sallie enjoys their homes in Palos Verdes and the desert.

American's love of vintage cars has lead to a very popular type of racing today. The Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA) stages race events at road courses all over the country.

While aggressive driving and "trading paint" are prohibited at these events, the spectators are still treated to a wonderful show on how things used to be in racing.

Because of VARA, many of the superstars of Bill Krause's era are now in demand to drive some of the cars that they made famous. Unfortunately for racing, these cars are now valued in six and seven figures and must be "raced" with great care.

Last June, Bill received a fax from world famous Sterling Moss, who referred to a recent magazine article about an epic battle between Moss and Krause.

In the fax Moss jokingly asked, "How about a re-match at the Monterey Historic Races?

He went on to joke that they had better be careful if they did race, because "the cars are worth a damn fortune". Bill, who doesn't drive VARA events, declined with thanks.

At the event, Moss had an off-track excursion on the first lap and nearly destroyed the two million dollar Aston Martin he was driving.

Bill has the fax at the top of his pile of memorabilia from his short but fabulous career. ER