1910 Grand Prize Plans

The attachments below contain articles about the revival of the  American Grand Prize. The first article (attachment GrandPrize021310) was originally published in the February 13, 1910, Indianapolis Star. It concerns plans to revive the race - the forerunner to the United States Grand Prix - after a year hiatus.
 
Savannah Campaigns for Grand Prize

This article was originally published in the February 27, 1910 Indianapolis Star. It concerns the effort the Savannah, Georgia's community leadership made to attract the American Grand Prize to their city for the upcoming racing season.
Mayors Bookwalter & Shank

This article concerning the inauguration of Indianapolis Mayor Samuel Lewis Shank appeared in the January 2, 1910 Indianapolis Star.
Indy Leads Race Car Production

This first attachment below contains an article that originally appeared in the January 26, 1910, Indianapolis Star. As the automobile industry and all associated parties looked ahead to the 1910 racing season Indianapolis ranked number one in entries in motorsport.
Indy Angles on 1910 NY Auto Show

This article originally appeared in the January 16, 1910 Indianapolis Star and focused on the activities of the Indianapolis auto industry and motorsport leadership. This is a brief article but covers a lot of ground.
Mardi Gras Speed & AAA Discount

The articles in attachment Orleans013010 were originally published in the January 30, 1910, Indianapolis Star.
Good Roads Status 1910

This article was published in the January 2, 1910 Indianapolis Star and provides an update to the good roads movement that was underway in the United States at the time. In reading the article it is interesting to note that even by 1910 the notion that the automobile was not an entirely established and widely accepted transportation solution and was just then only taking root.
 
Racing Tests Cars

This article was first published in the February 27, 1910 Indianapolis Star. An interesting piece, it editorializes that high speed road or oval track racing is the best way for manufacturers to develop automobiles.

Marmon, National, Jackson Automobile Advertising
This folder contains several newspaper ads appearing in the Indianapolis Star during the summer of 1909. Many of these ads trumpet the records set by automobile manufacturers such as Marmon, National and Jackson during the August 1909 race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Some of these ads provide quick references for the race results. The Jackson ad is particularly interesting in that it promotes its victory in the first race for the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, the seven-foot sterling silver cup designed by Tiffany’s. This race was controversial because it was called short due to accidents and the Speedway did not award the trophy at first because no car had completed the originally scheduled distance. The folder also contains a mix of miscellaneous ads for clothing, tobacco and other goods as historical context.

Co-Auto Motor Company & Jackson

This advertisement for Jackson Automobile Company product appeared in the February 27, 1910 Indianapolis Star.

Los Angeles - 1910
The Playa Del Rey board track was the first of the great wood plank automobile speedways. For years bicycle and motorcycle races were conducted on wooden velodromes, but Playa Del Rey brought the concept to events for race cars. This speedway was designed by Jack Prince, the most renowned designer of board track facilities. Board tracks rose in popularity through the 1920’s largely due to their relatively inexpensive start-up costs, but proved excessively expensive to maintain. Blindingly fast, their appeal was self evident. The opening of Playa Del Rey came in the spring of 1910. Caleb Bragg made a big statement in his breakthrough victory over Barney Oldfield and the Lightning Benz in a best of three match race. Ralph De Palma also appeared at the track. This folder contains 10 files on the topic from the Barney Oldfield scrapbook.

Marmon Enters Playa Del Rey Inaugural

The article in attachment Marmon011310 concerns entries to the inaugural Playa Del Rey board track race event was published in the January 13, 1910, Indianapolis Star. It credits H.H.