





American racing driver Lewis Henry ‘Lou’ Moore drove in Indy 500 nine times, from 1928 to 1936. He is best remembered as the pole sitter of the 1932 Indianapolis 500, while his best finish was 2nd place in his first Indy 500 in 1928. After his driving career ended in 1936, Moore became a competitive car owner. Moore-owned entries won the Indianapolis 500 five times: in 1938, 1941, 1947, 1948 and 1949. After the World War II Moore ordered two new Indy roadsters to Emil Deidt, Southern California-based chassis builder. Moore did not have the money to build his cars in time for the 1946 race but one year later they were ready. Cars powered by near-standard Offenhauser four-cylinder engine were sponsored by the Blue Crown Spark Plug company and known as Blue Crown Specials. To improve tyre wear, the car was fitted with inboard front brakes to reduce unsprung weight. Despite having only some 275 hp, their lightness and excellent fuel consumption allowed the cars to make the race distance on a single pitstop for fuel and new tyres. Moore hired 41-years old Maurice “Mauri” Rose and 40-years old Willard “Bill” Holland to drive his cars in Indy. Rose was experienced Indy driver, he had started at the Brickyard since 1933, and was the winner of the last pre-war Indianapolis 500 in 1941. Holland, on the contrary, was the Rookie, despite had a good reputation in big car racing. Holland won 1940 AAA Eastern championship in 1941, finished 4th in the AAA national championship in 1946 winning 15 Eastern and 1 Midwestern “big car” races.
In the 1948 Indy 500 the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finished 1st-2nd, for the second year in a row. Rose became the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Unlike the previous year’s race, no controversy surrounds the results. Coupled with his co-victory in 1941, Rose became the third three-time winner at Indy.
Season | Series | Event |
1948 | AAA National Championship | Indianapolis 500 |
Driver | No. | Entrant |
Maurie Rose | 3 | Lou Moore |
Chassis | Engine | Car Name |
Deidt FD | Offenhauser | Blue Crown Spark Plug Spl. |
Scale | Manufacturer | Collection |
1:43 | Replicarz | |
Cat. No. | Quality | Rarity |
![]() | ![]() | |