Barney Oldfield's Long Chicago Weekend: 1910

In some ways an article from 1910 about Barney Oldfield taking a long weekend in Chicago may sound insignificant, but not to those who savor delicious auto racing history. Check out an Indianapolis Star article that reports on Barney taking a breather between a whirlwind tour of the West Coast and on into Wyoming and Denver before tackling the Brickyard's first Memorial Day weekend of racing.
 
After setting an unofficial world land speed record of 131+ MPH at Daytona Beach in March Oldfield knew there was money to be made in taking his German-built Blitzen Benz racer on tour to amass track records. Among the stops in April was the world's first board track for automobiles, Playa Del Rey, near Los Angeles. After setting new speed marks there Oldfield moved on to tracks in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Denver.
 

The importance of an article like this for racing history aficionados is that it documents the sequence of Oldfield's triumphant tour with the Blitzen Benz and what he was doing just prior to appearing with the car where he set new track records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A note of color is provided in that Oldfield had his Blitzen Benz on display at a Chicago garage during his stay in the Windy City.
 
Check out a photo in the Indianapolis Sun in the same time frame as the article at the link below and reports on Oldfield's plan to drive at the Speedway. When you click thru you will find analysis of the article with links to a wealth of information that allows you to drill down deeper than most human beings dare to go.