National "Forty" Ad - 1909

The attached ads for the National Motor Vehicle Company appeared in the Indianapolis Star on September 5, 1909 about two weeks after the first auto race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is a cooperative ad between Speedway President Carl Fisher's  Fisher Automobile Company and National.
 
Despite National's entry driven by Charlie Merz being at the center of the horrible accident on the third and final day of the August race meet the company touts their success in the events. Three men lost their lives in the tragic wreck, including riding mechanic Claude Kellum and spectators James West and Homer Jolliff.
 
The ad with the touring car image promotes their "Forty" model and its performance at the Speedway in the hands of drivers Thomas Kincaid and Merz. One of the Speedway's founding fathers, Art Newby, was an officer at National and had expressed doubts about continuing to enter his cars in competition. This ad is significant in this regard as it is further evidence that National's leadership was reconsidering a position developed at the height of a very emotional time.
 
The ad with the pen & ink drawing of Johnny Aitken's No. 8 machine is a great reference piece as it contains the results of the various National entries.