Final Racing Day @ IMS May 1910

This attachment contains an article which orginally appeared in the May 31, 1910 Indianapolis Star. The article ran in support of the May 1910 race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The May 1910 race meet weekend included "national championships," a newly-announced distinction by the American Automobile Association (AAA) for select race meets. Car manufacturers were keen to make a great showing. Check out other articles that provide additional summaries on the results of the races staged May 27 and May 28 elsewhere on First Super Speedway.
 
Also, check out these other relevant articles:

• C.E. Shuart's report focusing on the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy.
• H.G. Deupree's report on record-breaking speed.
• May 28 Weather Report.

 
The attached article is a meaty gem of coverage of the final day - May 30 - of the race meet. The big moments of the meet came with Barney Oldfield setting new American closed circuit (referred to as "track" records in the day) speed records and Ray Harroun's triumph in the important Remy Brassard and Trophy for small bore (231-300 cubic inch) stock cars. Harroun drove a stock Marmon "32." The eight national championship five to ten mile sprint races are discussed only briefly. Another article published on the same day in the same newspaper and reporting on the same events can be found elsewhere on First Super Speedway.
 
While the companion article focused more on the national championship races and the Remy feature, this one reports on the record setting, primarily the accomplishments of Barney Oldfield and the Blitzen Benz. Like an article published in the Star on May 28, this one underscores the obssession the newspapers and spectators had with speeds and record-setting.
 
The idea of attaining speeds as ordinary as those by the average driver (mile-a-minute) on freeways today were hard to grasp for the average person during this time. While Oldfield exceeded 100 MPH during his mile run (reportedly 101.1 MPH or 25.06 seconds) the thought of exceeding the century mark was astonishing. His kilometer time was 105 MPH (21.45 seconds) which is certainly explained by the fact that the Brickyard's stretches are only 5/8 of a mile necessitating him to slow for the first turn. Note that at one point in the article the sound of the Blitzen Benz is described as markedly less noisy than other cars.
 
All of this made Oldfield the star of the day if not the entire meet. He not only dazzled with his Blitzen Benz but also laid down the law with his stock Knox right off the showroom floor of the local Conduitt Automobile Company dealership. On Monday he broke records he had established with the same car on Saturday by averaging 74.26 MPH over five miles. This record was for stock machines with an engine capacity ranging from 450 to 600 cubic inches.
 
I want to flag an important point in this article that has great historical significance for the sport, especially oval track racing. That branch of the sport had been largely thrown under the bus by the motoring trade papers after several accidents to top stars - including Oldfield - in 1905. Since then what was called "track racing" struggled for legitimacy. Oldfield was very much the central pillar supporting that branch of the sport. Check out this excerpt from the article:
 
"...Barney is an idol of the worshippers of speed. And why not? He invented automobile track racing and has kept it alive when few would lend their support."
 
Oldfield was not alone in the record-setting binge. The article reports that 27 American stock car and four "free-for-all" speed records were set during the weekend. Ray Harroun's victory in the Remy race simultaneously established new marks for the stock 231-300 cubic inch class at 25, 30, 40 and 50 miles. Johnny Aitken, referred to as "the dean of the National pilots," pushed his National Motor Vehicle Company "40" stock car to new records on Friday, Saturday and Monday.
 
Caleb Bragg (Fiat) and Ben Kerscher (1905 Darracq) staged a competitive race but failed to established new speed records. The race was reportedly a see-saw battle until the final circuit of the four-lap, ten mile contest. Bragg averaged 85.5 MPH consuming seven minutes and 2.6 seconds.
 
Marmon came away the big winner of the weekend with their star driver Harroun winning both the 200-mile Wheeler-Schebler Trophy as well as the 50-mile Remy Brassard and Trophy. He also led early on in the 100-mile Prest-O-Lite Trophy and the combination of laps led across all three races amassed an impressive list of speed records for different classes at various mile markers. Marmon totaled 15 new records during the meet.
 
National Motor Vehicle Company, another Indianapolis-based car manufacturer, garnered seven new records although two of those were set by Aitken who replaced them on successive days. The net was five for the marque. In addition to Aitken, his teammate Tom Kincaid also set records, largely on the strength of his Prest-O-Lite victory. Amateur Art Greiner is called out in the article for impressive performance. He scored two wins and a third during the weekend in his privately owned National "40."
 
Buick's team, with all their resources, had to be frustrated. Led by Dr. Wadsworth Warren, they struggled with AAA eligibility for stock car races and only brought home two records.