December 1909 Time Trials

This collection of articles is a good research source for anyone interested in learning more about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's project to pave the track with bricks during the autumn of 1909. This action was triggered by the tragic events of the Speedway's first auto race in August 1909. This collection focuses on the December time trial events that yielded new records and demonstrated the speed and improved safety of the facility. The weather was brutally cold, sinking to as low as 9 degrees. The track was covered in snow earlier in the week and Director of Contests Ernest Moross announced that he would pour gasoline on the bricks and set them afire if necessary to clear the Speedway for the trials. Temperatures were so biting that the drivers created homemade chamois balaclavas to protect their skin.

Morning of First Time Trials Day

The article in attachment IMStrials121709 was first published in the December 17, 1909 Indianapolis Star. The article concerned the second day of practice on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's freshly brick paved track and discusses the day ahead when the time trials were set to begin.
First Time Trials Records on Brick

The attached articles report on the results of the first time trials that took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the track was paved with brick. These appeared in the December 18, 1909, Indianapolis Star.
 
Time Trials: Day Two!

The attached articles report on the results of the second day of the first time trials that took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the track was paved with brick. These appeared in the December 19, 1909 Indianapolis Star.
 
Strang's "Giant" Fiat

The article in attachment IMSFiat121909 appeared in the December 19, 1909 Indianapolis Star. This was the same day coverage about day two of the first time tirals at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the track was paved with bricks was published.
1909 Racing Digest - Ty Cobb

The article in the attachment IMSNews is from the Indianapolis News and was published the week of October 18, 1909. I am unfortunately uncertain of exactly which day. The digital copy isn't great, but it is legible with patience. The quality is limited by the source material, library microfilm records.
 
Venue Competition For Records 1909

The article contained in AutoNotes113009 illustrates how seriously the automotive industry and the motorsports world took the oddball December 1909 time trial event hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Brickyard Rises to Atlanta Challenge

The November race meet at the two-mile crushed stone and clay Atlanta Speedway erased records established at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three months earlier in August.