In 1929, the AAA announced the rules for the 1930 Indianapolis race and they became known as the Junk Formula. The rules were created to limit the success of the Miller race cars and create an advantage for the American car manufacturers. A two man car with a much larger engine displacement was the new norm.
Riley Brett, Alden Sampson, Louie Miller, Bud Winfield and others took the challenge to heart and created the first Sampson Special. It would be a larger racer with the twin Miller 91 front engines mounted side by side, 16 cylinders in a 2,000 pound car.
At Indianapolis in May 1930, Louie Meyer qualified the car second and finished the race in fourth place. Meyer continued to drive the car in 1931 and 1932. Chet Gardner took his place in 1933, 1934 and 1935. In 1935 the twin Miller engines were pulled in favor of the 220 cu. in. four cylinder Offenhauser engine and Gardner finished sixth in that event. Harry Quinn drove the car in 1936 but DNF’d after running out of fuel.
When the car was found in southern California in 1985, it was powered by a push rod Crager-Ford engine. This miller Sampson Special completed a full restoration in early 2014.
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