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.

Fred Duesenberg

By Sigur Whitaker
Long before he gained fame as a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 or the Duesenberg automobile, Fred Duesenberg was already setting speed records.
 
He was born in Lippe, Germany, in 1876. After his father died, the Duesenberg family moved to a farm near Rockford, Iowa. As a child, he showed mechanical ability. At age 17, he went to work for a farm implement dealer repairing machinery and setting up windmills. When he was 20 years old, he started building bicycles and began setting records in bicycle races.
 

Fred Duesenberg

By Sigur Whitaker
 
Fred Duesenberg had a love affair with racing. It didn’t matter if it was bicycles, speed boats, or automobiles. His racers obtained great success.
 

Mormon Meteor

By Sigur Whitaker
 

Allison's Speedway Team

By Sigur Whitaker
 
With World War I raging in Europe and American automobile manufacturers losing interest in racing, Carl Fisher and Jim Allison faced the possibility in 1916 of not having enough entries for the Indianapolis 500. The solution was to start two race teams—Speedway Team Company and Prest-O-Lite Team Company. That solved one problem but created another—the cars would need maintenance and repair.