This collection of articles reviews the plans of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to stage an air show during the autumn of 1909. The effort came in the wake of the tragic first automobile race where five lives were lost including two spectators. This forced the founders to pave the track in effort to advance safety. This probably had something to do with the eventual cancellation of the air show but also it is likely Speedway management simply did not plan far enough in advance. The logistics of staging the event may have overwhelmed them and the availability of top pilots and airplanes may have been tight.

IMS Aviation Plans & National Attention 1909

The attached article from September 5, 1909, was published in the Indianapolis Star and shortly after the first auto race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This piece elaborates on one published about the track's plans for an air show in the same newspaper the previous day. It is a great encapsulation of some amazing - and rapid - progress that was being made in airplane technology development at the time.

 
Extravagant Speedway Plans

The attached article, published August 27, 1909 was published in the Indianapolis Star just days after the first auto race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite the tragedies endured in that event where five people lost their lives, the Speedway forged ahead with plans to stage an air show with additional auto races in the weeks following the August 19 - 21 races.
Rheims Air Show 1909

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Founder and President Carl Fisher may have been a Hoosier but he had a global perspective. He also harbored a great deal of patriotic enthusiasm. He was keenly aware of developments in Europe, developments he felt threatened the gorwth of nascent American industries and the economy of the United States.
Empire Automobile Company

The attached ad for the Empire Automobile Company appeared in the Indianapolis Star in a special edition automobile section on August 15, 1909 just four days before the first auto race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
National Good Roads Convention

This article, published in the September 5, 1909 Indianapolis Star, builds on a previous article from April 11 of the same year found elsewhere on First Super Speedway.

This folder has numerous articles on the inaugural auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. These races occurred only days after the Speedway hosted the Federation of American Motorcycles (FAM) race meet. The auto races were a blend of success and tragedy. Most of the major American drivers entered – Barney Oldfield, Ray Harroun, Bob Burman, Tom Kincaid, Lewis Strang, Louis Chevrolet, Jap Clemens, Charlie Merz, Eddie Hearne, Ralph De Palma and Tobin DeHymel among them. With the exception of a Fiat and a Benz, the entries were American, including: Marmon, Marion, Stearns, National, Jackson, Stoddard-Dayton, Buick and Apperson. Tragedy came in the loss of several lives, including Willfred Bourque, who became the first driver to die in a racing accident at the Speedway.

National "Forty" Ad - 1909

The attached ads for the National Motor Vehicle Company appeared in the Indianapolis Star on September 5, 1909 about two weeks after the first auto race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Photographer's Perspective

This brief Indianapolis Star article  provides the interesting perspective of a photographer covering early auto races. Published August 29, 1909 it is part of the wrap-up coverage of the the first auto racing meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is a story even today's motorsports photographer can relate to.
 

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.

Matson Talks Indiana Trophy Win

Originally published in the August 29, 1909 Indianapolis Star this article provides rare insight to an early race driver's thoughts about strategy in winning races. The driver is Indiana Trophy winner Joe Matson who drove a Chalmers-Detroit to victory in the preliminary event to the Cobe Trophy.
 

Carl Fisher and James Allison’s Prest-O-Lite Corporation marketed compressed gas canisters initially used to fuel the first viable automobile headlights. Fisher and Allison founded the company with Percy Avery in 1904 and eventually sold the company in 1917 for millions of dollars.

Prest-O-Lite Ad August 1909

This ad for Prest-O-Lite gas fueled headlights appeared in the special edition automobile section of the August 15, 1909 Indianapolis Star. Note some of the interesting information that can be gleaned through a quick copy read:
 

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.

AAA National Convention - 1909

In late 1909 the American Automobile Association (AAA) held their national convention in New York City. This is a collection of articles describing the issues of the day, the preparations for the meeting and the decisions made during it.