The great Los Angeles-to-Phoenix off-road race (more commonly known as "The Cactus Derby") was another of the terrific classics from the sport's early days. In its 1914 edition, track racing legend and barnstormer Barney Oldfield entered the same Stutz racer he had piloted to fifth place in that year's Indianapolis 500.
When I first started researching pre-WWI auto racing history several years ago, I came across this picture (at the bottom of this post) in a microfilm record of Horseless Age and it really caught my eye. The car was so sleek, so lightweight, it was a huge departure from the big, blunt, brutish race cars you typically see in photos of the era.