Arlen Kurtis, son of fabled Indycar builder Frank Kurtis has died. Besides Kurtis’ prolific string of hundreds of Indy 500 roadsters, Champ dirt cars, quarter midgets, three-quarter midgets, Bonneville cars, dragsters, and other open wheel racing endeavors in the 1950 and 1960s, he also built a series of roadsters in the early 1950s for the street, and more importantly, for road racing. Arlen followed in his father’s footsteps, a bit more literally than some, as he continued that series of Kurtis 500S roadsters with many of the same molds and jigs his father used starting in the early 1990s, out of his shop in Bakersfield. They were every bit a tribute to Kurtis Sr., in both workmanship and style. Arlen worked with his famous father for years, eventually taking over the Frank Kurtis Company when Frank retired in 1968. His Kurtis-Kraft boats held many records including Fastest Carbureted Drag Boat and more, built from his shop in Glendale, and later after moving the shop to Bakersfield.
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