Remy Brassard - 1909

This image originally appeared in the September 15, 1909 Indianapolis Star. It is one of most unique awards presented in all of motorsport history - the Remy Grand Brassard. This prize was a unique silver armband and was coupled with a $75 weekly salary that continued until the next running for the award at the Speedway.
 
The first Remy Grand Brassard race was one of the top contests held on the final day of racing during the first auto meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The incomparable Barney Oldfield, in his 120 HP Benz, dominated the event from start to finish. These races were conducted on Saturday, August 21, 1909. Exactly why the image of the brassard was not published until nearly a month after Oldfield's victory is unclear unless it took that long to make the official presentation.
 
The caption that accompanied this photo read as follows:
 
"Barney Oldfield is now the proud possessor of the Remy Grand Brassard, the unique trophy offered to the victor in the twenty-five-mile free-for-all race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month by the Remy Brothers, owners of the Remy Electric Company, makers of the famous Remy magneto. The fact that the handsomely wrought arm shield of silver bears with it a cash reward of $75 each week makes it doubly precious to the great driver, who established new world's records for the five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five miles in his mad flight to secure the trophy in his big 120-horse-power Benz.
 
The cash value of the original trophy, the fact that it was offered purely for the advancement of the sport of motor racing and without any demands of any kind upon the competing drivers, naturally produced a great struggle. DePalma, another track racing hero, finished second in the Brassard in his stock Fiat, while Len Zengle was third in the big Chadwick Six. Barney's time for the distance was 21:21.70.
 
The Remy Grand Brassard race promises to become one of the leading motor racing classics, as it attracts the greater pilots in cars of unusual power and assures a thrilling exhibition of daring, skillful, fast driving."