"Well...it's one thing to go out there and run pretty good for eight or 10 laps," Charlie said, climbing from the cockpit. "It's another thing to really race for 30."

"Hey, Boss!" someone shouted excitedly. When Charlie turned around, he was facing Eddie Sachs. "That was some really great driving out there," Eddie gushed as he shook Charlie's hand. "I hope you're not gonna run the feature!"

In 1959, the season got off to a bang at Grand Rapids, Mich., when local racer Johnny Roberts and the Engle machine broke the long-standing qualifying mark held by Bobby Grim in Hector Honore's vaunted "Black Deuce." Later in the program, Roberts' mark was broken by Jud Larson. In the feature, Larson and Roberts fought a great duel, but Roberts had to settle for second to the cowboy. Unfortunately, Roberts didn't continue with USAC.

The rest of the year saw little successs. Some drivers said Charlie's heart wasn't in it anymore, that the car spewed hot oil all over them and was hard to drive.

In 1961 with Allen Crow at the wheel, I saw the car run as the Engle Offy for the last time at Salem.

For the next few years, nothing much was heard from Charlie. Then in 1964 at Salem's James O'Connor Memorial race, the last event of the season, Charlie and his veteran machine showed up. Sporting a yellow and red paint job, still carrying the number 31, the old Kurtis Kraft was stuffed full of Chevy V-8.

Driver Al Miller did his best, but the engine was putting out a steady haze of oil pointed directly at the right rear tire. Miller finished fifth in the semi-feature and could have started in the 100-lapper, but he opted to drive another car. Charlie wasn't a happy camper.

"If I have to run a hot rod," Charlie said of the Chevy, "I'll quit racing." He was as good as his word.

According to Tom Konop, Engle traded the car to a contractor for a roofing job on one of his taverns. But Charlie was always around racing and kept tabs on the new drivers. He became a venerated member of the Winchester Old Timers Vintage racer's group.

One night in 1974, just before closing time, two holdup men held Engle and his patrons at gunpoint.

"I'll give you what I have," Charlie promised the robbers repeatedly. "Just don't hurt my customers."

After they got the money and were about to leave, one of the bandits- almost as an afterthought-turned back to Charlie and shot him at pointblank range. He died before help could reach him. No one was ever brought to trial for Charlie's murder.

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