It's true, Carl Fisher got all the attention when it came to the four founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But there's a good chance he couldn't have pulled it off without a great supporting cast. That's where James Allison, Arthur C. Newby and Frank Wheeler come in. Each made significant contributions to launching the great Speedway. I have obituaries for each of these men and plan to add more articles focusing on them over time.

Wheeler Cited - Assault & Battery

This is a curious piece I stumbled across from the August 5, 1909, Indianapolis News. It is a report that black sheep founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Frank Wheeler, was cited for assault when he struck a man - George Powell - on a bicycle while driving his passenger car.

A file of research on Louis Chevrolet, the leader of the Chevrolet brothers, which included Arthur and Gaston, who won the 1920 Indianapolis 500. Chevrolet was an excellent driver, mechanic and engineer. He struggled with his business dealings, losing his interest in the Chevrolet Motor Company, which eventually became part of GM. Several other efforts went south as well and he was reduced to humble means by the time of his death in 1941.

Two-Seater Ride With Louis Chevrolet

This article is an interesting point of view from the perspective of a self-admitted novice to motor racing who took a ride with one of the bravest men ever to grip a steering wheel, Louis Chevrolet.

This is a collection of articles published during the Fall of 1909 concerning the work to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 3.2 million bricks. The great speed facility was tagged with the name, "The Brickyard" before the work was done.

Cement, Not Brick?

First I should note the quality of this article is pretty darn poor. Ok, it's crappy. I've found that's what you get sometimes when dealing with microfilm of 100+ year old newspapers.
 
Atlanta Speedway 1909

Humbled by a disastrous and tragic opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August 1909 all the stakeholders of the Indianapolis automobile industry turned nervous eyes to a rival two-mile speedway in Atlanta as it prepared to stage its opening event November 9 through 14 of that year.
Drivers Discuss Danager

This brief article is an interesting artifact of the yellow journalism times as it focuses on the danger of driving race cars for a living. The specter of death is the underlying message and the sensational theme for readership appeal is clear. Several big name drivers are mentioned and apparently had experienced significant accidents.
Racing Outlook for 1910

This article from the January 15, 1910 edition of the Indianapolis News looks ahead to the New Year and discusses the role of auto racing in developing the automobile industry. By this time oval tracks were winning the public over despite periodic outcries concerning safety.
New Orleans - 1909

One of the big events in New Orleans during Mardi Gras 1909 was an auto race meet (February 20 - 22) on a mile dirt track near the historic city. Three drivers loomed large during the three days; Ralph DePalma, Bob Burman and the female driving sensation of the day, Joan Cuneo.
 

Fifteen articles in this collection document significant events in Carl Fisher’s life. His “palimony” suit with Gertrude Hassler is an interesting example. Another important point is the Zanesville, Ohio county fair horse track accident in September 1903 that involved his teammate Earl Kiser and resulted in the death of several spectators. Also, there is Carl’s wonderful first hand account of his balloon ride when he competed in the Speedway’s first competition – the national balloon championships of June 1909.

Fisher's Airplane Businesses

The kinetic mind of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Founder and President Carl Fisher probably amazed and sometimes confounded his friends and associates. In 1909 he literally willed the creation of the giant track. In the course of little more than four months, the 2.5-mile oval was complete with 41 buildings or structures that had sprouted up out of Indiana farmland.
Frank Moore Speaks

This is a unique ad in which Frank L. Moore ostensibly is writing an open letter to the Indianapolis market to test drive a Mitchell runabout automobile from Fisher Automobile Company.

These epic speed trials occurred on the sands of Ormond and Daytona Beach from 1904 through 1910 and established the Daytona area as a speed center.

Ormond Beach Speed Trials 1908

Attached are a couple of articles from the Indianapolis Star reporting on contests at the Ormond Beach speed tournament from March 1908. The first article was published March 4, 1908 and reports on a 125 mile race for amateurs. In these races the cars would typically go a marked-off distance of the beach, a few miles, and then circle back to complete several laps.