Indy Speedway Under Construction

These two items were originally published in the August 2, 1909 Indianapolis News. One is a caption to an image of N.S.U. rider Fred Voelker, who was injured at a race on the one-mile dirt track at Brighton Beach, New Jersey. This track was a popular setting for early motor races. The other image is of Merkel rider Stanley Kellogg, who won at Brighton.
 
More important are two brief articles on the second page of this attachment. The first discusses progress on the paving of the new dirt, tar and gravel Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Interesting facts include that laborers were unloading 90,000 wagon loads of stone (90,000 cubic yards) and they were using 40 car loads (train cars) of pitch or "taroid" to adhere the stones to the surface. The article also says there was a "siding" near the track, which was a stretch of rail long enough to park 15 cars. As the cars' contents were emptied into wagons for distribution around the circuit, another group of cars were brought in. Two gallons of tar was applied for every cubic yard of the running surface.
 
The second article concerns three victories by Hoosier Erwin G. Baker, who would later earn the nickname, "Cannon Ball." Baker took his triumphs in Troy, Ohio, winning three of five races and only losing the other two because they were handicaps and he could not overcome the headstarts he was forced to give competitors. Baker, an amateur, won silver cups for his effort.