One of the most unique chapters of Indianapolis Motor Speedway history was the June 1910 aviation show. Speedway President Carl Fisher loved leading edge technology, and he was almost as fascinated with aviation as race cars. This folder is packed with articles about that six day event which featured appearances by the Wright brothers and their star pilot, 21 year old Walter Brookins, who set a world altitude record at the meet. Carl Fisher got into the act, riding with Orville Wright in one of his pipe and stretched silk biplanes at dusk on one of the evenings. Fisher and Wright, fully exposed to the elements, laid on their stomachs, the Speedway president white-knuckling the metal pipe structure.

Moross Closes Wright Bros. Deal (1910)

This article was originally published in the March 23, 1910 Indianapolis Star.
"Airship" Entries at IMS Air Show

This article first appeared in the March 29, 1910 Indianapolis Star. The subject is the growing entry list for the then-upcoming June 1910 aviation show at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
Moross Talks Air Politics

This article first appeared in the April 8, 1910 Indianapolis Star.

These are articles that concern the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's plans for the 1910 season. The Speedway considered a variety of events for the year from auto races to car shows to aviation events and more. In many instances they spoke with certainty that events would happen but then failed to deliver.

Brickyard, Daytona, Planes & Cars - 1910

The attachment below contains three interesting articles all appearing on the same page of the March 23, 1910 Indianapolis Star. One of the articles discusses the final day of racing at that year's Daytona-Ormond speed festival. The same article appears elsewhere on First Super Speedway and you can find my analysis there.
 

Information about the operations of the AAA as the primary sanctioning body of auto racing in the United States, especially in the earliest days of the sport.

A.G. Batchelder Explains the AAA

The attached article first appeared in the April 4, 1910 Indianapolis Star. It reports on the Indianapolis visit of A.G.
Johnny Aitken Profile - 1910

This profile of Heroic Age racing star Johnny Aitken was published in the April 17, 1910, Indianapolis Star. This was printed early in Aitken's career as he was ascending.

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 Wins 1905 Championship!

This material has been prepared by First Super Speedway contributor and auto racing history researcher Ken Parrotte. It includes an article first published in the November 1, 1905 Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.

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.

AAA Cal Circuit Plan -1910

This article was originally published in the April 24, 1910 Indianapolis Star and was a by-product of news coverage of the first board track race meet held at Playa Del Rey near Los Angeles. The topic was the possibility of the American Automobile Association (AAA) creating a West Coast racing circuit.
DePalma @ Play Del Rey - 1910

This article first appeared in the April 24, 1910 Indianapolis Star and focused on the fortunes of Ralph DePalma at the first-ever board track race meet which was staged at Playa Del Rey.

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.

Carl Fisher - IMS Auto Country Club? (1910)

This article was first published in the April 29, 1910 Indianapolis Star. It concerns another product of the fertile mind of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Founder and President Carl Fisher - the concept of a country club-style membership located the track.