caption death_date death_place birth_place birth_date image article_title name
kurt hitke 23 february 1979 miami , florida dresden , germany 1 december 1889 kurt_hitke . gif kurt hitke
 kurt hitke
kurt hitke

kurt hitke -lrb- 1 december 1889 , in dresden , germany -- 23 february 1979 , in miami , florida -rrb- was an american racecar driver .
hitke was born in leipzig , germany , and worked from an early age in a blacksmith shop .
during the outbreak of world war i , kurt was working on a german merchant ship which was in western hemisphere waters .
consequently kurt stayed in the united states as it was impossible for the ship to return to germany due to british naval superiority .
kurt became one of the two best known racing drivers in the country , being second only to eddie rickenbacker who later became america 's leading world war i ace and still after headed the eastern airlines .
in addition to kurt 's driving abilities , he was an outstanding automobile mechanic and is credited with inventing the first straight eight motor which later was used very successfully by the packard motor company and others .
kurt 's interest was largely in racing automobiles and both the roamer and the kenilworth , which he designed , were considered outstanding in the early twenties .
a naturalised american by the time of his racing days , kurt later ran an insurance company in illinois .
