Wheatley Hills Winner - Harroun!!!

Ray Harroun, the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 and his Marmon Wasp have become iconic figures in auto racing, especially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, because he was declared the winner of the first Indianapolis 500. The story of his triumph is legendary and part of the tale is his work to design the winning the car, the Marmon Wasp and how he is credited with introducing the first rearview mirror.
 
A long time employee of Nordyke & Marmon, the company that launched the Marmon Motor Car business, Harroun was no stranger to success in driving cars. He won a variety of races, including seven other contests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, such as the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, the biggest of the pre-Indy 500 races. Harroun also won races at Atlanta and, of all places, Churchill Downs the home of the Kentucky Derby.
 
In this image, Harroun is pictured in the Marmon 32 that he drove to victory on the Long Island Motor Parkway course in a support race to the Vanderbilt Cup called the Wheatley Hills Sweepstakes. This image was first published in the November 7, 1909, Indianapolis Star. Check out a Marmon advertisement for this victory elsewhere on First Super Speedway.
 
In addition to auto racing, Harroun also worked in early aviation and even served as a flight instructor at one point in his career. Retiring at age 79, Harroun's working life was focused on mechanical engineering. Born in 1879, Harroun died in January 1968 just days after his 89th birthday.