Allison's Speedway Team

By Sigur Whitaker
 
With World War I raging in Europe and American automobile manufacturers losing interest in racing, Carl Fisher and Jim Allison faced the possibility in 1916 of not having enough entries for the Indianapolis 500. The solution was to start two race teams—Speedway Team Company and Prest-O-Lite Team Company. That solved one problem but created another—the cars would need maintenance and repair.
 
After founding the two race teams, Allison was disappointed in their performance in the 1916 Indianapolis 500. They had seven cars including three on the front row of a field of 21. Only two of the cars finished the race. Even more disappointing was that none of the cars on the front row finished. Five of the Speedway/Prest-O-Lite cars (57%) had a mechanical issue which caused them to drop out of the race. For the other 14 cars in the race, only 4 had a mechanical issue (29%).
 
Allison was frustrated by the performance of the two teams and asked Johnny Aitken, team manager, for advice. Aitken responded “…if he had a machine shop where he could turn out precision parts instead of using stock parts, he could win a race.” Allison took Aitken’s advice and relocated Speedway Team Company to a new one-story building on Main Street near the Speedway renaming it Allison Speedway Team Company.
 
Allison equipped the shop with the most modern equipment available. Over time, he hired twenty highly skilled mechanics and engineers who had learned their craft at various automobile companies in Indianapolis, particularly National Motor Vehicle Company.
 
In 1917, Allison hired Norman Gilman as chief engineer and superintendent for Allison Experimental. The United States entrance into World War I on April 17 would have a significant impact upon the company. Allison told Gilman, “Can’t have any more races. Quit the work on the cars, but hold the men and keep on paying them.” Allison continued, “Go out and find out how we can get the war orders rolling. Take any job you like, especially the ones others can’t do.”
 
Gilman responded positively to this change. Allison Engineering gained a variety of engineering jobs including the development of production models of trucks, superchargers, Whippet tanks and high-speed tractors. The largest contract gained by Allison Engineering was to improve a Caterpillar-type tractor for the U. S. Army which was trying to find a vehicle to carry artillery.
 
When the United States entered World War I, the War Department had only fifty-five planes, the majority of which were training craft. With the need for more planes, the War Department focused on increased production. Over the next nineteen months, over twelve thousand planes were manufactured.
 
Even more significant for the future of Allison Engineering was the development of the tools, gauges, models and fixtures for the Liberty Engines for Nordyke & Marmon. Allison Experimental made the original Liberty engine cut out of solid billets of steel. This served as the tooling model for Nordyke & Marmon. It was then copied in the manufacturing of the engines. Allison Experimental staffing quickly increased to 100 mechanics and engineers and 150 temporary draftsmen. To provide space for them, Allison constructed a two-story building on Main Street.
 
The United States Navy needed an aircraft capable of transatlantic flights. The solution was the modification of the Liberty engine to include reduction gears which allowed both the engine and the propellers to operate at peak efficiency. The elicyclic reduction geared Liberty engine was designed by Packard Motors with the assistance of Maurice Olley, a Rolls-Royce engineer. In January 1918, Allison Engineering won a contract to produce 250 epicyclic geared Liberty engines.
 
As World War I drew to a close, the company returned to the development of parts for auto racing engines. As soon as the Armistice was announced, Speedway management began making plans to reinstate the Indianapolis 500. In early 1919, at the small machine shop on Main Street in Speedway, Indiana, the Peugeot owned by Allison and driven by Johnny Aitken in the 1916 races was brought out of retirement. This car could have been one of the Peugeot cars which won the 1913 Grand Prix.
 
By the end of May 1919, Speedway Team Company had two vehicles ready to run in the Indianapolis 500. The Peugeot owned by Allison was driven by Howdy Wilcox, a native Hoosier and a favorite of the crowd. In this car, Wilcox was the first driver to break 100 mph, in a qualifying run. His record did not stand for long. René Thomas, winner of the 1914 Indianapolis 500, won the pole position driving 104.7 mph. Driving the other Speedway Team car was Jules Goux who finished third.
 
The 1919 Indianapolis 500 was a test of endurance. Wilcox won the race with an average speed of 88.05 mph and teammate Jules Goux finished third.