Carl Fisher and James Allison’s Prest-O-Lite Corporation marketed compressed gas canisters initially used to fuel the first viable automobile headlights. Fisher and Allison founded the company with Percy Avery in 1904 and eventually sold the company in 1917 for millions of dollars.

Prest-O-Lite History

I obtained this article from the Town of Speedway Library, and it provides a tidy history of the Prest-O-Lite Company.
 
Indianapolis Autos Win - 1909

This is a short article from May 1909 touting the success of Indianapolis manufactured automobiles at spring events, most notably the Jamaica Speed Trials ran on Long Island, New York and the Fort George Hill Climb. Among the winners were National, Premier and Marmon. This article is a direct tie-in with an advertisement Carl Fisher and Art Newby ran in the local newspapers to drive sales for National.

Barney Oldfield only raced in two Indianapolis 500s - 1914 and 1916. He finished fifth both times. Most notable was his run for Stutz in 1914 when he was the first American entry to finish the great race as teams from Europe dominated.

1914 Indianapolis 500

This is a clip from Barney Oldfield's scrapbook about the 1914 Indianapolis 500.

Fifteen articles in this collection document significant events in Carl Fisher’s life. His “palimony” suit with Gertrude Hassler is an interesting example. Another important point is the Zanesville, Ohio county fair horse track accident in September 1903 that involved his teammate Earl Kiser and resulted in the death of several spectators. Also, there is Carl’s wonderful first hand account of his balloon ride when he competed in the Speedway’s first competition – the national balloon championships of June 1909.

Jerry Fisher - Carl's Premier Biographer

Carl Fisher Biographer, Jerry FisherJerry Fisher never imagined the consequences of writing what is widely recognized as the premier biography (there are three) of his relative, Carl Graham Fisher when his book, "The Pacesetter," was published in 1998.
When was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Conceived?

A 1917 National Motor Vehicle Company brochure offers an interesting suggestion that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was first conceived by its four founders (Carl Fisher, Frank Wheeler,

More on Death at Zanesville

Thanks to history professor Dr. Elsa Nystrom the attached artilces provide more information on the September 9, 1903 racing accident involving Carl Fisher at Zanesville, Ohio. It's interesting to note that the details around this event are anything but certain. Different articles contradict each other. Some indicate that both Carl Fisher and his partner Earl Kiser were riding together in the Mohawk racer, others indicate they were driving identical cars.

This package of material comes from the Wayne Petersen collection. It is a combination of certificates acknowledging awards Barney Oldfield received and correspondence between him and others of the era. An interesting item is an article authored by Oldfield's nemesis Ralph De Palma, who describes a huge risk Barney took to edge out the 1915 Indianapolis 500 winner in a match race.

DePalma on Oldfield

This is an interesting article because it was written by Barney Oldfield's chief rival, Ralph DePalma.
Berkley Traffic Safety Commission

Awarded in 1937, this is a copy of certificate presented to Barney Oldfield by the Berkley Traffic Safety Commission. Presented nine years before his death, Oldfield continued to parlay his well established name for gain late in his life.

This is a wonderful collection of Indianapolis News, Indianapolis Sun and Indianapolis Star newspaper articles covering the August 14, 1909 Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) national championship race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was the first motorized competition at the Speedway and delivered mixed results at best. The track was simply not ready, its rough macadam and tar surface broke up during the events. Further, the nature of the surface and length of the giant track was such that the riders could attain speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour but the lightweight bikes bounced dangerously over the loose stones. Many observers called a fiasco as numerous planned events were canceled when riders refused to take any more risks. Champion rider Jake DeRosier suffered serious injuries in a spectacular fall in a match race conceived on the fly. Also see my story of this event from the 2008 Moto GP Program.

Note: I will update this section with a synopsis of each article as time permits.

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.
 
California & Cincinnati Riders Arrive

This brief article was originally published in the August 3, 1909 edition of the Indianapolis News. This report anticipates the arrival of a cadre of California riders including Charles Balke, Ray Seymour, Paul Derkum and Ed Lingenfelder.