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First cars races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
First cars races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
Item # 678365
August 21, 1909
EVENING TRIBUNE, San Diego, Aug. 21, 1909
* Indianapolis Motor Speedway opening
* 1st car races held at the famous track (day 3)
* Barney Oldfield and others - speed records
The top of the front page has a one column heading: NATIONAL WINS FIFTEEN MILE FREE FOR ALL HANDICAP" with subheads. (see) Surprisingly this issue is in good condition being from the "wood pulp" era. Very hard to find issues that are not totally fragile from this era in paper.
Complete with 8 pages, small library stamps within the masthead, some small binding holes along the spine, generally very nice.
wikipedia notes: On August 19, 1909, fifteen carmakers' teams arrived at the track for practice. The track surface again became a concern with drivers being covered in dirt, oil, and tar and with ruts and chuckholes beginning to form in the turns. Speedway workers oiled and rolled the track prior to the gates opening to the public. Fifteen to twenty thousand spectators showed up, paying at the most $1 for a ticket. Halfway through the first 250-mile (400 km) event, race leader Louis Chevrolet was temporarily blinded when a stone smashed his goggles. Wilfred Bourque, driving in a Knox, suffered a suspected rear-axle failure resulting in his car flipping end over end on the front stretch before crashing into a fence post. Both he and his mechanic, Harry Halcomb, died at the scene.[
The first day of car racing resulted in four finishes and two land speed records, but concerns over safety led AAA officials to consider canceling the remaining events. Fisher promised the track would be repaired by the next day and convinced officials that the show should go on. The second day saw 20,000 spectators, no major incidents, and additional speed records broken.
Category: The 20th Century
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