Locomobile - Miller "Junior 8"

Here's another image from the Paul Sheedy collection - an extremely interesting one. The margin notes refer to the engine depicted here as a "Locomoible Jr. 8 Motor." The 91.5 reference was common because that was the AAA cubic inch displacement allowed for supercharged engines in 1926, which is the date indicated. The driver was Indianapolis 500 veteran Frank Elliott. We believe the other information on the photo margin to be absolutely correct in the date and location, Charlotte Speedway - a board track.
 
As for Locomobile, it was a once grand luxury brand with racing pedigree. It was the first American company to produce a race car to win a major auto race against foreign competitors in the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup. Like many car companies, it fell into decline and was acquired by Durant Motors in 1922. That company was founder William Crapo Durant as his final shot at establishing a major automobile company. Durant founded General Motors but was ousted by bank executives who held the company's debt - with the endorsement of the board of directors. From there he founded Chevrolet with Louis Chevrolet. Chevrolet cashed out after an angry confrontation with Durant over the product line. Durant went on with the Chevrolet Motor Company and leveraged his position with that company to regain control of GM.
 
After again losing control of GM in 1920 he set about forming Durant Motors by pulling together several struggling car companies. As for the car that housed the engine in this picture, it was reportedly constructed by Harlan Fengler. This probably a Miller chassis that was assembled by Fengler. The engine is a Miller, so there was very little about the car that was Locomobile, so it was all about badging and branding.