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.

Wright Encircles Statue of Liberty

I include this article on a stretch that it is relevant to the brand promise of First Super Speedway because it concerns Wilbur Wright, who, with his brother Orville, brought their team of aviators and planes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the big

Coroner Blackwell Condemns IMS

The article in the attachment below is from the August 28, 1909, Indianapolis News. It reported on the findings of Coroner John J.
Selden Patent & ALAM

The Selden patent was an example of someone trying to profit from the work of others by leveraging the legal system. George Selden was a patent attorney who applied his expertise not to protect intellectual property, but to steal ownership of it. Copying an engine design he had seen at an exposition, he filed for a patent for the invention in 1895.
Cannon Ball vs. Sink

The attached article originally appeared in the November 6, 1909, Indianapolis News. It reports that two of Indiana's top motorcycle riders and racers - Erwin Baker (in coming years known as Cannon Ball Baker) and John Sink planned to square off in a 100-mile match race.
French Lick Hill Climb 1909

The attachment you find here contains an article from the Indianapolis News published on October 18, 1909.
Oldfield Record in San Antonio

The Indianapolis News article in the attachment below was published November 15, 1909. It is so brief I am just transcribing the entire item and embedding links where appropriate. I have comments which appear under the transcription.
 
Atlanta Auto Show - 1909

The November 16, 1909, article contained in attachment AutoNews111609 looks ahead to 1910 and the model cars manufacturers were making available to the public. It references input and analysis from an unnamed source who represented an Indianapolis manufacturer. The new season's models had been on display at Atlanta's first auto show just days prior.
 

This collection of articles is a good research source for anyone interested in learning more about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's project to pave the track with bricks during the autumn of 1909. This action was triggered by the tragic events of the Speedway's first auto race in August 1909. This collection focuses on the December time trial events that yielded new records and demonstrated the speed and improved safety of the facility. The weather was brutally cold, sinking to as low as 9 degrees. The track was covered in snow earlier in the week and Director of Contests Ernest Moross announced that he would pour gasoline on the bricks and set them afire if necessary to clear the Speedway for the trials. Temperatures were so biting that the drivers created homemade chamois balaclavas to protect their skin.

1909 Racing Digest - Ty Cobb

The article in the attachment IMSNews is from the Indianapolis News and was published the week of October 18, 1909. I am unfortunately uncertain of exactly which day. The digital copy isn't great, but it is legible with patience. The quality is limited by the source material, library microfilm records.
 
Venue Competition For Records 1909

The article contained in AutoNotes113009 illustrates how seriously the automotive industry and the motorsports world took the oddball December 1909 time trial event hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Brickyard Rises to Atlanta Challenge

The November race meet at the two-mile crushed stone and clay Atlanta Speedway erased records established at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three months earlier in August.