Speedy Super Six

Say “Hudson race car” and people are going to think of Herb Thomas, Marshall Teague, Tim Flock, Smokey Yunick, and all the greats who propelled the Fabulous Hudson Hornet to NASCAR success in the early ’50s. Really, though, the Hornets are the end of the Hudson racing story. To go back to the beginning, or nearly so, you need to have in mind folks like Ira Vail and “Smiling” Ralph Mulford.

Before the glory days of NASCAR, even before Eddie Rickenbacker’s Indianapolis “junk formula” of the 1930s, there was a time when manufacturers viewed auto racing as a critical part of their business efforts. Racing proved the product to the public and racetracks served as laboratories for potential improvements, both in performance and durability. Such was the case over a century ago, when cars