Aitken @ "Frigid" Time Trials!

This image of driver Johnny Aitken first appeared in the December 19, 1909 Indianapolis Star as part of that day's coverage of the first time trials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the 2.5 mile oval was paved with 3.2 million bricks. Aitken was at the wheel of a National Motor Vehicle Company entry in which he set new speed records for 20 miles. Aitken competed on the first day of the frigid time trials, but the cold weather proved so unbearable he and his team did not return for day two.
 
If you were a citizen of Indianapolis and sipping your steaming coffee as you devoured the Indianapolis Star at your kitchen table near your wood-burning stove on Sunday morning, December 19, 1909, you would have read the following copy under the photo:
 
"Johnny Aitken won more fame as a driver of an Indianapolis-made car, the National, at the Speedway time trials Friday. He broke the world's records from one to twenty miles. His time was 16:18.41."