Glidden Tour Stats

First Super Speedway contributor Ken Parrotte assembled the information that you will find attached here. The topic is the Glidden Tour, certainly one of the most significant stock car competition events of the early days of the 20th century, 1905 through 1913. Some historians hold the opinion that it was actually the single most important stock car contest of those days. That's because the machines were straight off the assembly line with virtually no modifications.
1908 Season (Motor Age)

From Ken Parrotte.
Call To End Short Oval Racing - 1908

Thanks to auto racing history researcher Ken Parrotte we have the attached Automobile Topics article from June 1908 discussing the appropriateness of venues for auto racing. While there can be no doubt the use of horse tracks, with their thin railings, limited protection for spectators, and unconditioned running surfaces, were dangerous, the reality was that all forms of the sport were extremely dangerous for everyone involved in these early days.
 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Concept 1/21/09

The attached article about the first announcement of plans for the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was published in Motor Age on January 21, 1909, and was contributed by First Super Speedway reader Alan Saters. 
 
Race Results 1895-1910

Auto racing researcher Ken Parrotte has provided more terrific content that First Super Speedway is proud to publish. Find here great charts focusing on the results of the most important American races from the earliest days, 1895 - 1910. Ken cautions that the information only inludes the winners of the feature races, which were the headline events of race meets that included a number of other contests for a variety of classes.
Oldfield Wins AAA Championship

As reported elsewhere on First Super Speedway, the first American auto racing points championship was organized in 1905. The attached article, "Oldfield05Champ," reports the results where Barney Oldfield was crowned American Automobile Association (AAA) "track championship."
Crittenden Race Weekend - 1912

This contribution is from auto racing researcher Ken Parrotte and we thank him. Attached is the full program and other articles about a race that took place at Crittenden Park in Rochester, New York July 27, 1927.

This is a collection of articles published during the Fall of 1909 concerning the work to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 3.2 million bricks. The great speed facility was tagged with the name, "The Brickyard" before the work was done.

Brickyard Pamphlet

The two attachments (Brick Brochure) are pdf files of a pamphlet that provides the best overview of the brands of bricks that were used to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the autumn of 1909. It was prepared by John Blazier and Tom Rollings - who did historians and aficionados of our sport a great service through their work. 
 

Few people know it, but the first national championship awarded by a points system occurred in 1905. The AAA sanctioned a national championship for track racing and announced it in May. The prime contenders were Barney Oldfield, Louis Chevrolet and Webb Jay. The schedule included tracks at Empire City (New York), Charter Oak (Hartford, Connecticut), Brunots Island (Pennsylvania), Morris Park (New Jersey), Glenville (Ohio), Kennilworth (Buffalo, NY), Readville (Boston, MA), Providence (Rhode Island) and Poughkeepsie (New York). Oldfield, Jay and Winton Bullet II driver Earl Kiser were injured in spectacular accidents. Kiser and Jay were hurt badly enough that their careers were curtailed. Oldfield recovered to win the championship after Chevrolet inexplicably dropped out. The 1905 racing season provided one of the most interesting years of early American auto racing. Legendary names like Chevrolet and Oldfield played huge roles, the first points awarded championship played out and serious accidents to three of the sport's biggest stars threatened the cancellation of auto racing in general.

Oldfield's Medal - 1905 Points Championship

Few people know it, but the first national championship awarded by a points system occurred in 1905. The American Automobile Association (AAA) sanctioned a national championship for track racing and announced it in May. The prime contenders were Barney Oldfield, Louis Chevrolet, and Webb Jay.

This category contains feature stories on auto racing history that have been published in Indianapolis Motor Speedway Programs and historical publications. Most of the articles pertain to per-WWI auto racing, but others cover more recent history. Among the subjects covered are: Barney Oldfield, the 1914 Cactus Derby; Jim Clark racing in NASCAR; Jim Hurtubise racing in NASCAR; an interview with John Surtees; the 1909 Motorcycle meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the first French Grand Prix; the Vanderbilt Cup; the 1937 Indianapolis 500; Wilbur Shaw; Cannon Ball Baker; Holmon and Moody; Indianapolis 500 relief drivers; Ralph De Palma; Smokey Yunick; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Harvest Classic; Rudolf Carraciola; Dan Gurney and Johnny Aitken. The articles are a mix of biographical pieces and stories of milestone events in auto racing history.

Johnny Aitken - IMS' Winningest Driver

The attached article you can click thru to below is the compelling story of Hall-of-Fame driver Johnny Aitken, the man who won more races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway than any other racer. I wrote this piece for the 2018 Indianapolis 500 program and it is an important tribute to a talented competitor whose story has been all but swept away by the passage of time.