1905 24 Hour Run - Indiana Fairgrounds

This is a rare image of one of the National Motor Vehicle Company stock cars that set the world's record for distance covered in 24 hours. The cars were 1905 Model C Nationals and the drivers were 17-year-old Charlie Merz and W.F. "Jap" Clemens. In an event organized by future Indianapolis Motor Speedway founders Carl Fisher and Art Newby, the teammates toughed out the frigid Indiana November weather throughout the night of November 16 and through the early morning hours of November 17. The drivers actually started in two cars but one broke a steering knuckle early on and crashed to its destruction. It may have been for the best as the driver was unhurt and with the cold the team really needed both of them spotting one another. In the end they were successful in setting a new world record of 1,094.56 miles at just over 45 miles per hour.
 
You can read all about this amazing story in an article I wrote for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2005 Allstate 400 NASCAR program.