HALL OF FAME EDITION
LAKEWOOD MANUFACTURING’S FRANK AND KAYE PETERSON
68 YEARS AT PPIHC
Colorado Springs, CO – Drivers have traveled to Colorado to challenge the 14,115′ summit of Pikes Peak since 1916, as they will again this summer for The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo. Many have made one attempt, others, maybe a dozen. Finding a competitor who, along with his wife, have spent more than 65 years together on Pikes Peak is rare. Meet Frank and Kaye Peterson, Hall of Famers and part of the PPIHC family.
The Early Years
Frank and Kaye Peterson began dating while attending Alameda High School in Lakewood, Colorado where Frank ran track and played basketball, and Kaye was a cheerleader. One of those dates was to watch the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1955 at 16 Mile where, due to her enthusiasm for the event, Kaye fainted in the thin air. Despite the rough beginning, they were hooked on Pikes Peak and have been a part of almost every race since.
In 1956, Frank raced his Ford on local drag strips, and in 1958 built their first sports car, which ran in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) races at Denver’s Lowry Field. From the mid-1950s on, they fielded cars that Frank drove over road courses, raced in hill climbs and blazed down drag strips.
In 1959, the couple decided to enter the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, and they never looked back. Kaye was expecting their first child and, in her ninth month of pregnancy, attended the race in early July. Their son was born on July 24. It was a family affair from the beginning.
The Sports Car division was in its second year of competition on the mountain and Frank entered a Bocar, (pictured above). He finished in 8th place in the Group 1 class behind the wheel of his family-sponsored Peterson Turkey Farms entry. He continued to compete in the division for the next five years, transitioning from the Bocar to a Corvette. He would notch his best finish in the division in 1962 when he claimed second place with a time of 14:57.00. Ak Miller would take the win.
Asked about her roles on Pikes Peak, Kaye recalled, “We always went up together. I stocked the truck and repacked it so I knew where stuff was and could hand it to them in a hurry. There were times when I’d tow him i
f we didn’t have a trailer, or drive the truck with parts. Sometimes he’d be in the race car and I’d tow him all the way back to Denver.”
Taking Stock
When the Sports Car division was discontinued, Frank transitioned to the Stock Car division. He would compete for the next 20 years in his eye-catching Oldsmobile racecars.
After a 1-2-3 finish for the Oldsmobile Toronados in 1968, with Nick Sanborn, Frank Peterson and Bob Fling topping the division, Frank continued to race Oldsmobile. His Lakewood Manufacturing precision-crafted cars from the Toronado, to the Olds Omega and Cutlass were always popular with the fans.
In 1970 he won the Stock Car division in his red, white and blue, #62 Toronado with a time of 14:46.80, and by the early 1970s, the Stock Cars were what everyone came to see. A whopping 42 division entries were listed in 1973.
By the mid-1980s the Rally division was a sensation, drawing top European champions to compete in the Race to the Clouds. Frank entered the Rally division, but didn’t enjoy the same success he did in stock cars.
Frank would clock his best time on America’s Mountain in 1985, the final year he raced in the Stock Car division, when he recorded a 13:09.54, finishing in 8th place. It was a remarkable year. Roger Mears set a Stock Car division record of 12:21.54, and France’s Michele Mouton was crowned overall winner for her remarkable performance on the mountain – 11:25.39, behind the wheel of her Audi Sport Quattro.
Three Drivers – Three Cars
In 1987, there were two more Petersons on the entry list, sons Rob and Brett. It is believed to be the first time a father and two sons all raced cars in the PPIHC in the same year. That continued for two more years and then Frank and Kaye focused on supporting and building race vehicles for their sons.
Asked if she worried during those years when she had three men on the mountain in race cars, Kaye explained, “I thought about it, but Frank builds a good, safe car. All three of them had crashes up there, and I was on the mountain for those. But you know, none of them were ever badly hurt. They were always in cars that Frank built.”
Honors Bestowed
Frank and Kaye Peterson have been inducted as a racing duo both in the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2008, and in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Hall of Fame in 2014. Unless Frank was in a race car on the course, you rarely saw one without the other, including at Tech Inspection, on early practice mornings, or on race day. Their relationship speaks of total support and total commitment, both to each other, and to the PPIHC where they continue to volunteer at Tech Inspection. The Petersons and their family are pictured below with their 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado at their 2014 PPIHC Hall of Fame induction during the grand opening of Penrose Heritage Museum.
Restoring The Broadmoor Special “Yellow Devil”
During the Hall of Fame celebration, a momentous conversation would further the Peterson’s legacy on Pikes Peak. “The Yellow Devil story, with us, started in 2014, when Kaye and I were inducted into the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Hall of Fame,” shared Frank. “Tom Osborne, Chairman of the PPIHC Board of Directors, wanted to have my 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado, winner of the Stock Car Division in 1970, at the museum, and have me start it just as the curtain went down for the opening. He liked it because it had a very loud Olds 455 engine, especially inside the building!”
Peterson explained, “Later in the day, Tom and I were standing by the Yellow Devil on the ramp. Just joking I said, “You should let me take the Devil home and I will rebuild it and drive it up the road for the 100th Anniversary.” He said, “That’s a great idea, let me see what I can do.” A couple of weeks later he called and said, “Bring your trailer, you can have it as long as it takes just so we have it, for sure, for the 100th Anniversary celebration.”
Peterson remarked, “There were some pretty strong limitations as to what we could do with the car. They didn’t want the engine taken apart or the car painted. We kept the car as true to the original as possible and it was ready for the 100th Anniversary in 2016.”
“During Race Week we also took it to the Half Mile runs at the Airstrip Attack at the Colorado Springs Airport and raced a Nissan NSX down the runway. Colorado Springs Mayor, Steve Back was riding with me. They gave me a huge head start and I almost won! The Yellow Devil reached 62mph which I thought was a safe speed on 100-year-old wooden wheels!”
On Race Day, 2016, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Race to the Clouds, Bill Hybl, president of the El Pomar Foundation, rode along with Frank from the Start Line to Halfway Picnic Grounds and back to the Start Line in an exhibition run. Frank recalled, “We wore mechanic’s coveralls that looked vintage with old helmets and goggles, courtesy of El Pomar Foundation.”
Frank reflected on the Yellow Devil’s restoration, “To have Spencer Penrose’s personal car in our shop was a great experience. To restore it, bring it back to life and then drive it up the road that Penrose built was something special. We will love that car forever.”
The Yellow Devil is traveling to Florida this week for the 29th annual Amelia Concours d’Elegance as the star of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Class and one of 275 historically significant vehicles on display for the 4-day event.
Those attending will also see Pikes Peak race cars driven by Michele Mouton, Ray Evernham, Peter Cunningham, Layne Schranz, Bobby and Robby Unser, and more.
For race fans and history buffs the #16 Broadmoor Special will be back on display at Penrose Heritage Museum after the Amelia Concours.
Photos by: PPIHC Archives, John Davis, Mitch Snow, Frank and Kaye Peterson
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