DuPont's Indy Racer; Family member campaigns race car in vintage events.

Byline: LARRY SANATA

Seventy-five years ago, a pawpaw yellow duPont was a major contender in the 1930 Indianapolis 500.

Equipped with a straight-eight Continental motor, three-speed Borg Warner transmission and streamlined body, it was a favorite-until the 22nd lap when Charles Moran Jr. crashed while averting a pileup.

The special-bodied two-seater was repaired and competed in a handful of less-spectacular events in the Long Island area before it was retired from racing. It seemed destined to gather dust in the Florida garage of Willis duPont.

Today, thanks to Willis' son, Lammot duPont, the big and bright race car is back on the track. With memories of his father driving the behemoth through the countryside, duPont rescued the car from storage and had it prepped for vintage racing. The roadster, with its distinctive shade of yellow, is a regular at a handful of historic events across the country, including the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. The duPont racer was in its glory at this year's event July 15-17 as it rumbled through the makeshift road course in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park. Careening past bales of hay, parking meters, trees and curbs, duPont the racer and duPont the car quickly became crowd pleasers.

In its heyday, this one-off Indy racer required the efforts of both a driver and a mechanic. Today's rules prohibit riding mechanics, forcing duPont to drive solo. And he loves it. He credits the efforts of Chuck Wray and Matt Dillard at Grand Touring Inc. in Laurel, Maryland, for helping sort the car for modern-day historic racing.

"It's exhilarating to drive a 1930 car at 80 to 90 mph,'' duPont said. While he hasn't claimed many ...