Sigur Whitaker is an acclaimed auto racing history book author. First Super Speedway and Sigur are collaborating with this platform for her articles. You can receive her articles directly by subscribing to her e-mail newsletter. If you would like to be added to my subscriber list, please let her know at sigurwhitakerbooks881@gmail.com.

Fred Duesenberg

By Sigur Whitaker
Long before he gained fame as a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 or the Duesenberg automobile, Fred Duesenberg was already setting speed records.
 
He was born in Lippe, Germany, in 1876. After his father died, the Duesenberg family moved to a farm near Rockford, Iowa. As a child, he showed mechanical ability. At age 17, he went to work for a farm implement dealer repairing machinery and setting up windmills. When he was 20 years old, he started building bicycles and began setting records in bicycle races.