Newell Motsinger - 1910

This image orginally appeared in the May 22, 1910 Indianapolis Star as part of the build-up to the May 1910 race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was the Sunday edition of the paper just five days prior to the beginning of the meet and as such was packed with articles concerning the event in anticipation of subscribers spending more time with the paper over coffee on their day of rest. I lifted this image from the first page of a section devoted to previewing the May 1910 "national championships," a newly-announced distinction by the American Automobile Association (AAA) for select race meets.
 
The driver is Newell Motsinger, who was driving one of the smaller cars at the event. The manufacturer was Empire, of which the Speedway's ownership, primarily President Carl Fisher, had a sizable stake. Not a lot is know about Motsinger but among his life time accomplishments was a patent word for development work he did on rotary engine design. Motsinger is the at the wheel wearing spectacles. The riding mechanic is unidentified.