Jun 24, 2026 · 59 min · 11 segments
Cummins diesel engines are an American institution. They've been one of the most massive manufacturers of diesel engines in the United States for more than 100 year now, but did you that they have an…
Brian LohnesHost
Tuesday, May 30th, 1911 was a day that is forever stamped in American auto racing history.
As TriviaBus will tell you, Ray Haroon won the contest driving a Marmon Wasp race car.
Less well known is that among the men on his crew was a hard-working, mechanically gifted kid, employed at Marmon and tagged by his bosses to be on the racing team that fielded this car from the factory.
He was 22 years old, and while the Speedway awed him for its size and grandiosity, the feeling he and his team had in the winner's circle stirred something deep within his soul.
Klessie Cummins was the young man's name, and he knew there was more for him in the world than the job at Marmon.
And at this point in his life, the furthest thing from his mind were diesel engines.
In fact, he had physically never seen one at this point in his life, but he understood one foundational thing about that moment in the winner's circle.
Klessie Cummins would be back at the Speedway one day, and when he was, he would be there of a car of his own.
The early history of the Cummins Oil Engine Company is interesting, tumultuous, and really less influenced by Klessie Cummins, and in so many ways more dependent on a man named William Irwin.
Irwin was a gargantuanly wealthy guy who not only funded the creation of the company, but swallowed many years of losses and some failed ideas to keep the thing floating.
Irwin believed strongly in the mechanical brilliance of Klessie and his vision for the company, and he was certain that these things would work, but it certainly would take a lot longer than he had ever planned or perhaps expected to.
After working with other companies and building diesel engines under license, Cummins released the first commercial engine of the company's history, the Model F, in 1924.
It was an okay seller and established Cummins as the maker of a quality product, but it wasn't the smash hit they were looking for.
Klessy's vision for the company was one where his engines would be powering high-end luxury passenger cars, effectively becoming a supplier to one or many of the high-dollar brands.
Irwin had a likely more practical vision, hence these forays into industrial engines to establish the company name.
He had an acute understanding of the inherent issues holding diesel engines back in the 20s and he set forth to effectively deal with them one by one.
Tuesday, May 30th, 1911 was a day that is forever stamped in American auto racing history.
As TriviaBus will tell you, Ray Haroon won the contest driving a Marmon Wasp race car.
Less well known is that among the men on his crew was a hard-working, mechanically gifted kid, employed at Marmon and tagged by his bosses to be on the racing team that fielded this car from the factory.
He was 22 years old, and while the Speedway awed him for its size and grandiosity, the feeling he and his team had in the winner's circle stirred something deep within his soul.
Klessie Cummins was the young man's name, and he knew there was more for him in the world than the job at Marmon.
And at this point in his life, the furthest thing from his mind were diesel engines.
In fact, he had physically never seen one at this point in his life, but he understood one foundational thing about that moment in the winner's circle.
Klessie Cummins would be back at the Speedway one day, and when he was, he would be there of a car of his own.
The early history of the Cummins Oil Engine Company is interesting, tumultuous, and really less influenced by Klessie Cummins, and in so many ways more dependent on a man named William Irwin.
Irwin was a gargantuanly wealthy guy who not only funded the creation of the company, but swallowed many years of losses and some failed ideas to keep the thing floating.
Irwin believed strongly in the mechanical brilliance of Klessie and his vision for the company, and he was certain that these things would work, but it certainly would take a lot longer than he had ever planned or perhaps expected to.
After working with other companies and building diesel engines under license, Cummins released the first commercial engine of the company's history, the Model F, in 1924.
It was an okay seller and established Cummins as the maker of a quality product, but it wasn't the smash hit they were looking for.
Klessy's vision for the company was one where his engines would be powering high-end luxury passenger cars, effectively becoming a supplier to one or many of the high-dollar brands.
Irwin had a likely more practical vision, hence these forays into industrial engines to establish the company name.
He had an acute understanding of the inherent issues holding diesel engines back in the 20s and he set forth to effectively deal with them one by one.
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