Practice Runs - August 15, 1909

This article ran in the Indianapolis Star on August 16, 1909. It covered practice runs the previous day for the upcoming first automobile races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which started August 19. Attached are two copies of the same article, the older one having notes I made in the margin. The newer copy is a bit more legible so I am sharing both.
 
I would say Chadwick driver Len Zengel grabbed the headline by posting fast speed of the day at 73.74 MPH but the paper misspelled his name as "Ziengal," which is a major botch. Interestingly, there seems to be some debate about the spelling of his name  (Zengle?), but either way the paper was way off.
 
Other drivers recording impressive times were Johnny Aitken (National - two minutes, five seconds); Barney Oldfield (National Old Glory - two minutes, 15 seconds); Herb Lytle (Apperson Jack Rabbit) and J. Walter Christie (Christie "Record Breaker VII"). The article reports that "hundreds" of spectators attended this practice session which was held on Sunday, August 15.
 
This session followed the fiasco motorcycle meet which was terminated a day early on Saturday due to accidents and a track the riders deemed unfit for the two wheelers. The article, however, makes a point of asserting that the track was in great shape.
 

AttachmentSize
Indianapolis_Speedway_First_Races_6.pdf1.03 MB
IMSpractice091609.pdf850.91 KB