Duke Nalon’s “Car #1” was a supercharged FWD Novi — a type of pre-war American racing car — that became one of his most famous machines at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motorsports Hall of Fame.
This Novi was part of the “FWD” (front-wheel-drive) class of pre-war Grand Prix cars, which were known for their high-revving engines and advanced engineering for the time. Nalon’s version was particularly notable because it was supercharged, giving it exceptional power and speed.
At Indianapolis, the Novi was a dominant force in the early 1940s. Nalon’s best result in it was 3rd place in the 1948 Indianapolis 500, a race he could have won but lost due to a pit stop foul-up Motorsports Hall of Fame. The following year, in 1949, he qualified on pole in the Novi, leading for 28 laps before a mechanical failure ended his race Motorsports Hall of Fame.
The Novi’s success at Indy cemented Nalon’s reputation as “The Iron Duke” and made it one of the most iconic cars in his career. It was also the car he used to set the Indianapolis 500 qualifying record in 1951, when he achieved a one-lap speed of 137.049 mph Motorsports Hall of Fame.
In short, Car #1 was the supercharged FWD Novi — a high-performance pre-war Indy car — that defined Duke Nalon’s peak years at the Speedway.