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Oldfield at Indy 1916

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By: Mark Dill

Below is a collection of articles about the great American driver Joe Dawson who won the second Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 1912. Also check out this article on Joe from Vanderbilt Races.

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Earl Kiser Portrait

Earl Kiser was one of America's early professional auto racing drivers and a chief rival to his much more well-known contemporary, Barney Oldfield. Kiser succeeded Oldfield on Alexander Winton's Bullet II race car when Barney and Winton had a falling out. Kiser was also a colleague of Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl Fisher.

Originally a mystery, I have uncovered new information that indicates that this is the Carl Fisher commissioned Premier racer originally designed for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup. The driver is Barney Oldfield who retired from racing in 1919. the consensus among First Super Speedway readers is that this photo was taken in 1916. Check out the comments to this photo post for their insights. The car exceeded maximum weight limitations for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup and was disqualified before it ever turned a wheel. In a valiant attempt to meet the regulations, Fisher's crew drilled holes in the car (note the holes in this car's frame). The Premier still exists and can be seen in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

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Comments

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 17:28.

Oldfield Mystery

My feeling is that this photo is at Indy in 1916. Premier had a three car team of Peugeot copies. The tail looks like the Premier cars I`ve seen in other photos The Pit wall has the letters PR that can be seen in the photo-more than likely the word Premier. I would bet they dragged the Old warhorse out to show how far Premier had come from 1905 to 1916. Of course Barney was a natural tie-in,as He was so involved in racing circa 1905. He of course drove a Delage at Indy in 1916. Tony De Seta

Submitted by Mark Dill on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 14:29.

I think you're right!

Hi Tony.
Everything you say jibes with my understanding as well. I like your line of reasoning. Thanks!

Mark Dill