The 1909 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motorcycle Race Meet and Jake DeRosier

This article recounts the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's disastrous motorcycle race meet of 1909. This was the Speedway's first motorized competition - a balloon race having been conducted two months prior. Newly constructed, the crushed stone and tar track was raw. Sharp stones tore at tires, and ruts worn in the track twisted handlebars in the riders' hands. This article includes a nice bio sidebar on the colorful Jake DeRosier, the record and bone-breaking Canadian-born rider who suffered a huge accident during the Speedway's race meet. This article appeared in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2008 MotoGP program.