Domination. No other word so accurately describes the Offenhauser engine's six-decade reign over American auto racing. On small urban tracks, state fair dirt circuits, and Indy's brick oval, "Offy" was synonymous with "winner circle."

At the height of its power in the 1950s, entire Indy grids were composed of Offenhauser-powered roadsters. Neither the rear-engined revolution of the mid-1960s nor the entry of major players like Ford would knock Offy from its throne. When the "little four with the big punch" finally ceased being competitive in the early 1980s, it was a victim of the...

Domination. No other word so accurately describes the Offenhauser engine's six-decade reign over American auto racing. On small urban tracks, state fair dirt circuits, and Indy's brick oval, "Offy" was synonymous with "winner circle."

At the height of its power in the 1950s, entire Indy grids were composed of Offenhauser-powered roadsters. Neither the rear-engined revolution of the mid-1960s nor the entry of major players like Ford would knock Offy from its throne. When the "little four with the big punch" finally ceased being competitive in the early 1980s, it was a victim of the...