Oldfield Appearance Fee? (1910)

The article in the attachment below was originally published in the May 18, 1910 Indianapolis Star.
 
The very brief article offers good insight to Barney Oldfield and his position in the American motorsports world in 1910. Apparently controversy had been generated with a story or rumors that Oldfield was demanding $5,000 appearance money for the upcoming May 1910 "national championships" race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 
 
Oldfield apparently was taking the position that this was a misunderstanding and that what he was requesting was for an increase in prize money he could compete for in time trials competition. He was expected to drive his still-new Blitzen Benz racer that he had set a world land speed record with on the sands of Daytona just weeks earlier. The cigar-chomping icon knew his value as a gate draw and apparently felt the rewards for putting his life on the line in his 200 HP machine should be greater than whatever amount he had been quoted.
 
Oldfield had a long-standing relationship with Ernie Moross, who was the Brickyard's contest director and the man largely responsible for planning the track's events. Moross had been Oldfield's business manager years earlier. It is not a big stretch to think Oldfield wanted to leverage that relationship.
 
Note that Oldfield makes two interesting points. First, he says he paid $14,000 in acquiring the Blitzen Benz. Secondly, he asserts that IMS had "hung up liberal purses" for stock car races but "practically nothing" for the events he would run with the Blitzen Benz. Also not that the dateline on the article is Kansas City so we can assume Barney was racing there. He was reportedly leaving with his cars for Chicago via rail that day.