First Auto Races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - August 1909

This folder has numerous articles on the inaugural auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. These races occurred only days after the Speedway hosted the Federation of American Motorcycles (FAM) race meet. The auto races were a blend of success and tragedy. Most of the major American drivers entered – Barney Oldfield, Ray Harroun, Bob Burman, Tom Kincaid, Lewis Strang, Louis Chevrolet, Jap Clemens, Charlie Merz, Eddie Hearne, Ralph De Palma and Tobin DeHymel among them. With the exception of a Fiat and a Benz, the entries were American, including: Marmon, Marion, Stearns, National, Jackson, Stoddard-Dayton, Buick and Apperson. Tragedy came in the loss of several lives, including Willfred Bourque, who became the first driver to die in a racing accident at the Speedway.

European Marques Enter @ IMS

This article was published in the Indianapolis Star on August 4, 1909 and reports that Benz and Fiat would be represented at the upcoming first automobile races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway later that month.
IMS vs. Brooklands

This article was originally published in the August 8, 1909 Indianapolis Star. It is significant in that it is further evidence of how competitive Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Carl Fisher and the other founders of the track were with the Brooklands racing facility in England.
 
Buick With 15 @ IMS

This article was first published on August 11, 1909 in the Indianapolis Star. It reports the surprising news that Buick team manager William Pickens had filed an astounding 15 entries in the upcoming first auto races at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway just eight days away.
Chicago Caravan to the Speedway

This article was published in the August 8, 1909 Indianapolis Star and centers on the excitement of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association about the first automobile races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway coming up 11 days hence.
 
Lozier to IMS

Published in the July 16, 1909 Indianapolis Star, this article reports that Lozier had entered cars for the upcoming first automobile race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the next month.
Lytle Enters IMS Opening Race Meet

This article was published July 14, 1909 in the Indianapolis Star and concerns developments for first automobile races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway coming up in August.  It heralds the entry of the well known veteran racer Herb Lytle in the Apperson "
National Enters First IMS Races

This article first appeared in the July 13, 1909 Indianapolis Star and discusses the entries of the National Motor Vehicle Company in the first automobile races ever held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
America's Brooklands

This article was published in the August 15, 1909 Indianapolis Star and reports on the Brooklands track of Weybridge, Surrey, England. Constructed in 1907, a full two years before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Hoosiers inevitably compared their homegrown facility with the English concrete-paved closed circuit course.
 
Stoddard-Dayton Banquet for Clemens

After all the events ended for the first day of auto racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the executive team at Stoddard-Dayton staged a banquet honoring their star driver Jap Clemens.
Driver Compensation

This article commenting on the salaries of drivers of the era appeared in the August 15, 1909 Indianapolis Star in association with the first automobile races held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.