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.
 
Brooklands was another large closed circuit course base in England. High banked and paved with concrete there could be little doubt the track's design permitted higher speeds. Nonetheless Speedway officials longed for the right to claim world's speed records they believed would establish the track as the greatest in the world - and attract massive crowds.
 
Brooklands had been open since 1907 and had already staged several race and record time trial meets. The English facility boasted several records. Speedway officials wrote the track to receive an official statement of the records established there. The idea was to be very clear on the accuracy of those records and provide something for the drivers at the Speedway's upcoming first auto race meet to shoot at.
 
Brooklands officials stressed the importance of the official recognition of the Royal Automoible Club (RAC) as well as the use of electric timing devices for accuracy. The article also lists various classes of race cars recognized by the RAC. Finally, as a side note the article refers to Britain as "John Bull's country," a term you don't hear every day.