Awesome 15" detailed painted wood Model of 1920's-30's professional race car driver Ab Jenkins speed record setting "MORMAN METEOR" Duesenberg Race car. Jenkins became interested in land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah and was instrumental in establishing the location for such events and in bringing in drivers from all over the world there to compete. In 1935 he drove his Duesenberg "Mormon Meteor" to a 24-hour average land speed record of 135 miles per hour and in 1940 Jenkins set the 24-hour record of a 161.180 mph average driving only by himself a record that lasted for 50 years until beaten by an 8 man team in 1990. In 1940 his popularity was so great in Utah that he was elected mayor of Salt Lake City a post he held for 16 years without spending and money nor giving one speech. Beautiful model has been painted to match his record setting car right down to the painted details on the fin. Some cracking diagonally along the bottom of the fin. "L" shaped bar of metal screwed into the bottom which leads us to speculate that this model might have been used for wind tunnel wind resistance testing. Tremendous eye appeal with early speed record importance.

Includes a Letter of Provenance from the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection.