Marmon Rejoices

This article is about the Marmon automobile business and their declaration of success during the first auto meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The article was originally published in the August 29, 1909, Indianapolis Star. These races were conducted from Thursday, August 19 to Saturday, August 21, 1909.
 
Articles like these read almost as advertorials but were fairly common in the local Indianapolis newspapers as the community rallied around its burgeoning automobile manufacturing industry. In particular, the Marmon "Thirty-two" stock cars of the company were the featured machines in the races. They did come away with one race win, a 10-mile free-for-all handicap contest, which meant any car could enter and the officials would grant the lower horsepower machines staggered head starts depending on their estimated speed.
 
Ray Harroun, who would go on to immortality in winning the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 in the Marmon Wasp, also picked up the company's single triumph of the first weekend of auto racing at the Speedway. The article also praises the Marmon "Thirty-two" for its performance in the longer races, finishing third and fourth in the Prest-O-Lite Trophy and running near the front until the final day's ill-fated Wheeler-Schebler Trophy race was called off at 235 miles.
 
The next attachment (MarmonNews090809) contains an article that addresses a rumor originating out of Marmon satellite offices in Chicago that the company was withdrawing from racing after the fatalities at Indianapolis. Howard Marmon is quoted assuring the company's continued participation in sport. The success they felt they enjoyed at the Speedway is again asserted.
 
This is a very brief item and with it comes a paragraph reporting that Indiana cars were entered in the upcoming 315-mile road race near Lowell, Massachusetts. Herb Lytle is noted as the driver an Apperson and Bob Drach - a Milwaukee resident - was slotted for a seat in an American Auto entry.