Lewis Strang Obits

Thanks to Ken Parrotte for these obituary articles for Lewis Strang, the first pole sitter for the Indianapolis 500 in 1911. It was just a matter of weeks before Strang lost his life in a reliability run in July 1911. The reliability runs, such as the Glidden Tour, 

Lewis Strang Obits

Thanks to Ken Parrotte for these obituary articles for Lewis Strang, the first pole sitter for the Indianapolis 500 in 1911. It was just a matter of weeks later that Strang lost his life in a reliability run in July 1911.
G&J Tire Company History

Auto racing researcher Ken Parrotte sheds light on the important G&J Tire Company, located in Indianapolis and an early important sponsor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is supported by intriguing photos.

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.

A Jeopardy - Type Question (Paula Murphy)

By Sigur Whitaker
Who was the first woman to drive a Championship car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Most people believe it was Janet Guthrie, who was the first woman to qualify and compete in the Indianapolis 500. But the first woman who drove a race car around the track was Paula Murphy.
 

Lucy O'Reilly Schell

Lucy O’Reilly Schell by Sigur Whitaker
 
In 2021, the Indianapolis 500 had a female team including the owner, Beth Paretta and driver, Simona de Silvestro as well as the majority of the crew. But Beth Paretta was not the first woman to own a team which participated in the Indianapolis 500. That honor probably belongs to Lucy O’Reilly Schell.
 

Umbrella Mike

Umbrella Mike by Sigur Whitaker
 
The title alone was enough to peak my curiosity. Who was Umbrella Mike…and how was he behind the Indianapolis 500?
 

1955 - Year of Tragedy

Auto racing is inherently dangerous. The 1955 Championship racing season was particularly bloody and brought things to a head for the AAA Contest Board, which was the sanctioning body not only for championship racing but also for sprint cars, run on one-half mile tracks, midgets run on one-quarter mile tracks, and stock cars. AAA, whose primary focus was auto safety, was subject to criticism whenever there was a racing accident. It didn’t matter if the race was sanctioned by the AAA Contest Board or not.
 

Bessie Lee Paoli

By Sigur Whitaker.
 

Sigur Whitaker Reviews "Master Driver of the World"

Book Review: The Master Driver of the World, the 1914 Cactus Derby by Mark Dill
By Sigur Whitaker
The Cactus Derby, officially known as the Los Angeles to Phoenix Endurance Run, began in November 1908. The 1914 race was 728 miles spanning three days with stops in Needles, California, and Prescott, Arizona. This was a test of the mettle of the participants—both men and the cars.
 

This is a large collection of articles concerning the 1911 Indianapolis 500. This content covers practice and preparation for the event, many featuring the star drivers such as eventual winner Ray Harroun, Ralph Mulford, Bob Burman and Ralph DePlama. Barney Oldfield, who was banned by the AAA during this period and missed the first Indianapolis 500, wrote a racing column and several of his contributions are contained in this folder. Complete race day coverage is yet to be added, but will be included them in the future.

Ian Chermansky Early "500s"

IUPUI motorsports program student Ian Chermansky developed an interesting study of the pre-World War I Indianapolis 500 races. Ian is 20-years-old with aspirations for a career in Indy car. We hung out a bit at the recent Chattanooga Motor Car Festival. I was selling my books in the Ragtime Racers paddock and Ian was working with one of the teams.