If nostalgia drag racing is your thing, then this is about as nostalgic as it gets. To be more specific, what you’re looking at is, quite literally, a drag racing artifact.

This original (and we’d say the photos prove that as fact) 1932 Ford Coupe that’s headed to the block at the Mecum Indy auction in a couple of weeks won the AATA (American Automobile Timing Association) World Series of Drag Racing at Lawrenceville, Illinois in 1954. That victory came just three years after Wally Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association, and pre-dates even the fabled “Nationals” (the NHRA’s U.S. Nationals).

A product of the post-World War II boom in hot rodding, this Coupe was built by Francis Fortman and driven by Kenny Kerr, and like many of the purpose-built racing machines of the day, it was assembled with a flathead V-8 for power burning alcohol.

Intriguingly, the car only competed at that very race, where it won Class AB honors, and never saw the drag strip again. As the story goes, Fortman parked the car after its World Series triumph in expectation of the arrival of a newborn child, placing it under a tarp for two decades. At some point in the 1970s, it was moved to his barn, and while the car never saw competition again, it remained a time capsule within the Fortman family for six decades. All told, the Coupe has traversed less than one full mile since 1954.

In 2013, Ken Robins discovered and acquired the car, dubbed by Mecum as the “barn find of the decade”, and rather than give it a complete makeover restoration, he simply dusted it off and added a set of period-correct tires that would hold air. Originally painted in a dark red with a white chassis, the elements have largely weathered it all away, leaving it with natural patina throughout.

Owing to the modified hot rod rods of the era, the ’32 was channeled 10-inches, with a filled roof and cowl vent. Inside is a World War II-era surplus aircraft seat for the driver, a 1940 Ford steering column, and an engine-turned Stewart Warner dash panel. The flathead engine is mated with Edelbrock cylinder heads and four Stromberg 97 carburetors atop an Edelbrock intake manifold.

Mecum is estimating a winning bid of between $50,000 and $75,000, although the originality of the car and its unique story could well play on the minds of potential bidders. Lot T221, the ’32 is slated to cross the block on Thursday, May 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Photos credit: Mecum Auctions