Prep for 1908 Grand Prize

Differing rules packages was the core issue between the Automobile Club of America (ACA) and the American Automobile Association (AAA) in 1908 and nearly caused the cancellation of the Vanderbilt Cup for the second year in a row.
Indianapolis Star 1908 Glidden Tour Coverage

This is a collection of articles covering the 1908 Glidden Tour that were published in the Indianapolis Star. These are listed in chronological order, starting with an image of the Hower Trophy which was founded by Frank B. Hower.
Oldfield and the Turf Plunger

The is a small item published in the Indianapolis Star August 28, 1908. It reports on one of Barney Oldfield's typical match races staged on his barnstorming tours. In this case his challenger is a betting man by the name of John J. Ryan also known as a "turf plunger," slang for someone who bets heavily on horse races.
Eddie Sachs

This attached article is so prophetic it is almost tragic. It was written by Larry Merchant and published by the Saturday Evening Post in 1962. The grim irony is it focuses on the risks of Eddie Sachs and the race against death and time he was involved with.
Fairmount Park Plans Announced

This attached article (FairmountPark082308) was published in the August 23, 1908 Indianapolis Star and is about the intentions of the Philadelphia's Quaker City Motor Club's plans to stage a major road race - the first of its kind organized in a public park - Fairmount Park.

Called the "Western Vanderbilt" the initial Ira Cobe Trophy Race was run on a 23.27-mile road course completing a circuit between Crown Point and Lowell Indiana on June 19, 1909. It was commissioned by Ira Cobe, who founded the Chicago Automobile Club. Low attendance and the brutal punishment inflicted by the under-developed roadways contributed to the decision to move the contest for this classic trophy to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1910.

Ira Cobe's Vision - Indianapolis Star

The pace of change in automotive technology between the turn of the 20th Century and 1908 was pronounced and developments within motorsports reflected it. There were a handful of auto races in the United States in 1900 - inevitably involving at most a total of three or four cars of one or two cylinders.

This is an evolving collection of articles about track races that took place in 1908.

Indiana Fairgrounds Meet - 1908

These articles from the Indianapolis Star pertain to the auto race meet on Saturday and Friday September 19-20 1908 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds dirt horsetrack oval. The meet was a star-studded affair with the likes of Barney Oldfield, J.

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.

Bumbaugh & Wall

Attachment Bumbaugh102908 contains an image (published in the Indianapolis Star October 29, 1908) of a balloon sailing out over the horizon. Manning the vehicle is reported to be Captain George L.

Occasionally I run across obscure American road races that occurred before WW-I. This category is designed to capture and preserve such races.

Year of Growth - 1908

This is a brief article from the December 20, 1908 Indianapolis Star. It substantiates a view I have developed after sifting through a wealth of automobile and auto racing news coverage from 1908 - and that is that auto racing hit a turning point during the 1908. It was an important step forward in maturation that led to a proliferation of big-time events, at this point mostly road racing, across the United States.
 

These epic speed trials occurred on the sands of Ormond and Daytona Beach from 1904 through 1910 and established the Daytona area as a speed center.

Daytona-Ormond Plans - 1909

These articles summarize the planning efforts for the 1909 Daytona-Ormond speed tournatment - all were published in the Indianapolis Star.