George Salih was a plant supervisor with Meyer & Drake Engineering, manufacturer of the famous Offenhauser engines, and a crew chief of several Indianapolis entrants. As a chief he won three Indy 500 races, first in 1951 with Belanger Special driven by Lee Wallard, and in 1957 – 1958 with his own team and chassis. After scoring second with Tom Hanks in the 1956 Indy 500 with Jones & Maley entry and Kurtis Kraft chassis, Salih built his own car for the 1957 race. It was a very radical design of a low-slung car that would accept an Offy engine laid on its side to obtain a lower center of gravity. Unable to find a buyer for such a radical vehicle, Salih got sponsorship from Belond Exhaust and entered the car himself. Veteran Tom Hanks, 42, started the race from the fifth row, grabs the lead on lap 37, and, after some lead changes, finally beat Jim Rathmann in Epperly by 22 seconds. For Hanks it was his 12th try at the Brickyard.
For the 1958 edition of the 500-mile race Salih entered Jimmy Bryan to drive his 1957 car and won again. Bryan was the winner of the 1954 AAA and 1956 and 1957 USAC National Championship. In 1957 he was 3rd in the Indy-500 and also won the inaugural running of the Race of Two Worlds at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.
| Season | Series | Event |
| 1957 | USAC National Championship | Indianapolis 500 |
| Driver | No. | Entrant |
| Sam Hanks | 9 | George Salih |
| Chassis | Engine | Car Name |
| Salih | Offenhauser | Belond Exhaust Spl. |
| Scale | Manufacturer | Collection |
| 1:43 | M.A. Scale Models | |
| Cat. No. | Quality | Rarity |
| MA177 | 
|
|
formula143 