Leon Daniels #5, 5x, 6, 56, 88 Driver Profile (Page 1 of 2)

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This is the very last Malloy Roadster. It is the twin to the Malloy Roadster driven by Harold Evans of Colorado. Jerry Malloy had kept this chassis in storage for several years before selling it to Leon Daniels of Blackfoot, Idaho. The car was completed by Daniels and numbered 56. Daniels drove the car regularly in the CAMRA series throughout the Northwest. This car also won several championships at Pocatello Airport Speedway in Pocatello, Idaho. The car is shown here with it's trademark Daniels six foot wide multi-stage airfoil in it's 2nd color scheme.

Here is the last Malloy Roadster after being completed by Leon Daniels before he had driven the car a single lap on the track. It is shown here with the familiar Bill Freeman multi-stage airfoil and painted in it's original 1977 Ford Thunderbird colors. This car was built to replace Daniels' earlier Malloy Roadster which was severly damaged in a crash at Bonneville Raceway, Salt lake City, Utah.

This is the Malloy Roadster which was originally owned by Harmon Holverson MD of Emmett, Idaho. The car was completely rebuilt from scratch by Leon Daniels and was a regular contender in the CAMRA ranks for several years. The car was very fast but unpredictable in it's handling. Daniels continued to use the car's original number 6. The car is shown here with the familiar Malloy rear flares and Daniels' second paint scheme. This car unfortunately received severe frame damage when it made contact with the concrete wall at Bonneville Raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah. The car was never rebuilt.

This is the former Holverson owned Malloy Roadster after being completely rebuilt by Leon Daniels. The car is shown here before being raced for the first time by Daniels. The Malloy rear flares were left off and the car utilized a clutch for the last time before being converted to direct drive. Daniels won many races with this car and a couple of local championships despite it's unpredictable personality. When the car was owned by Holverson it had been driven by Cliff Worthan, Dennis Burger, and Jake Spoor and was known as the "Holly J".

This is the famous Daniels Roadster which was affectionately nicknamed "The Tank". The car was designed and fabricated by Leon Daniels. The design was partially based on some of the later Indianapolis roadsters. The car had adjustable suspension attachment points which made it possible to set the chassis for running on asphalt or dirt and it performed equally well on both. This is the car's 4th color scheme with lettering and graphics by famous Idaho artist Fred Ochi. The car is shown here with the famous Daniels "sewer pipe" exhaust system and side airfoils. The pipes and side airfoils were both Daniels firsts. The car also had the famous Daniels/Crosley steering system which adapted the use of a Crosley differential for a steering box. This was the second Daniels chassis design to utilize this type of steering. This car handled extremely well and was very fun to drive. The car won numerous races and championships. The chassis was built from SAE-1020 tubing which eventually became a disadvantage with the development of the lighter chromolly cars. The car was eventually sold to Lum Owens of Kalispell Montana where it was raced on dirt and asphalt.

Leon Daniels (standing) and Jack Nave prepare "The Tank" for another weekend of racing. Photo was taken in Daniels speed shop (Precision Auto) where Daniels did all his own fabricating and engine building. Daniels was one of a very few car owners who designed and built his own chassis and engines in addition to performing the driving duties.

The 3rd configuration of "The Tank" with the bright red paint scheme. This was the first year the car utilized the new low profile tires and a Bill Freeman multiple stage airfoil. This was also the last year the car featured the old style Tipke tail piece.

This is the 2nd configuration of "The Tank". This was the last year it was raced with the old style M&H Racemaster tires. Daniels held out on converting to the new low profile tires and continued to race on the tall slicks one more year after everyone else had made the change. The old tires didn't prevent him from capturing another local championship! This was also the last year the conventional style airfoil was used before converting to the Bill Freeman multiple stage airfoil.

Here"The Tank" sits outside of Daniels' speed shop after final assembly has been completed. The car is equiped with a small block Chevrolet engine with Enderle Fuel Injection. The drive train consists of a Halibrand quick change rear with a Culbert Automotive Engineering In/Out box. The car also had a unique closed tube driveline system.

The car has now been numbered and is ready for competition. This cars first run was at Sportsman Speeway in Blackfoot, Idaho. The car handled like a dream and was very fast. Daniels won everthing that night and was the only competitor not using a wing!

Two views of "The Tank" during construction at Daniels' speed shop (Precision Auto) in Blackfoot, Idaho

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