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.

Duesenberg Sets Endurance Test Record

As part of a larger 18,000-mile endurance test of the Duesenberg Straight 8 spanning three weeks, the Duesenberg Automobile and Motor Company planned to simulate a cross-country trip. Using the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the fully equipped Duesenberg Straight 8 was driven 3,155 miles, approximately the distance from New York City to Los Angeles, with an average speed of 62.63 miles per hour in late April 1923. The speed was computed without deducting the time consumed in three stops for tire changes during which the engine continued to run.

Carl Fisher's Turkey Run

Carl Fisher, one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was a man of limitless ideas and a marketing genius. In the 1880s and 1890s, he was very involved in bicycling and bicycle races including on a regional (Midwest) basis. In 1891, he and his two brothers, Earl and Robert (Rolla), started a bicycle repair shop in Indianapolis. It soon occurred to Fisher that there was more money to be made in selling bicycles than in repairing bicycles.
 

Celebrating 50 years as Team Penske

When he was 14, Roger Penske saw his first Indianapolis 500 with his father. After sitting in a race car at a house party, Penske decided that he wanted to be a race car driver. He was given an opportunity to take the IMS rookie test in 1965 by Clint Brawner. Busy with his new Philadelphia automobile dealership, he declined the offer. Brawner then offered the opportunity to Mario Andretti. Penske formed his race team the next year as a sports car team.  
 

Creating a SAFER barrier

Auto racing has always been a dangerous sport both for spectators and the drivers. Racetracks have done multiple things to help protect spectators including guardrails, catch fences and concrete barriers which separate the speeding race cars from the gathered crowds. The concrete barriers were very effective at keeping racecars from plowing into the stands while the catch fences provided protection primarily from airborne racers and parts. Protecting the drivers is harder and many have paid with their lives or with career ending crashes.
 

Book Review: The Legend of the First Super Speedway, the Birth of American Auto Racing by Mark Dill

Mark Dill grew up in Indianapolis and is passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and auto racing. A couple of years ago, he released a book, The Legend of the First Super Speedway which transports readers back to the early 1900s. The book covers the early days of auto racing and the men who were involved including William K. (Willie K.) Vanderbilt II, Barney Oldfield, Henry Ford, Carl Fisher, and Tom Cooper.

How the Indianapolis Motor Speedway became "The Brickyard"

Construction on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway began in 1908. When the track was under construction, the four partners (Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler) made the decision that crushed stone would work well and it was significantly cheaper than the alternatives of either brick or concrete.
 

Tony Hulman and the formation of USAC

After taking a hiatus during World War II, auto racing resumed. Many of the drivers from the pre-World War II era had retired and their replacements were inexperienced. Additionally, most of the autos raced were between five and eight years old. During this period, it was not unusual for a car to be rebuilt after a crash, even a fatal one. This resulted in increased carnage on the racetracks.
 

The Newby Oval

In the 1890s, bicycling swept across the United States. It opened a new world as an alternative to walking, or if you could afford it to riding in a carriage. By 1893, there were over one million bicycles in America.
 

1941 fire in Gasoline Alley

It seemed like a normal race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The skies were gray and overcast and rain was predicted. In Gasoline Alley, thirty-one race teams were making last minute adjustments to their cars. The bomb, which signaled that the gates were open for the estimated 175,000 spectators, went off at 6:00 a.m.
 

Orville Redenbacher and Tony Hulman

The story of Orville Redenbacher and Tony Hulman, who in 1945 purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, goes back to 1900 when Anton Hulman, Tony’s father, married Grace Smith. The Smith family had a coal mining operation based in Terre Haute, Indiana. The mining operation expanded in 1924 south of Princeton, Indiana. Wanting to expand the Princeton operation, Smith and Tony Hulman purchased 12,000 acres of Indiana farmland including the mineral rights. This farm, operated under the trade style of Princeton Farms, became the largest farm in Indiana.