Meet Leigh Lynch

This is your chance to meet Leigh Lynch. Does the name not ring a bell? How well do you know your Indianapolis Motor Speedway history? We're telling ya, Leigh could stand on it. He won the first major auto race at the Speedway, but also in doing so kicked off the incessant controversy so inextricably woven into the place's history when he was refused his just reward.
 
The race was the August 21, 1909 300-mile Wheeler-Schebler Trophy which was stopped after Lynch, who was a full two laps in front, completed 235 miles. Obviously this distance was well past halfway and by today's sensibilities one might expect that the event would be declared official and the accolades awarded to the winner.
 

Instead, the American Automobile Association (AAA) ended up banning Jackson Automobile, the factory team Lynch raced for, from racing for the final quarter of 1909. That came about because the Speedway and the sanctioning body had decided that despite the considerable distance covered the race was officially cancelled - almost as if it had not been run at all.
 
The fact is, though, that race had been run and it was exceptionally brutal with several accidents. The worst came at the enormous price of three lives. Two, James West and Homer Joliff, were spectators. The third was 21-year-old driver Charlie Merz' riding mechanic, Claude Kellum. Miraculously, Merz, despite barrel-rolling his 2,000-pound brutish National through a throng of spectators, emerged with a few bruises and emotionally shattering memories.
 
Given these grim realities it would seem Lynch and the Jackson team had more than earned the rewards of a cash prize and temporary, bonded rights to showcase the seven-foot, Tiffany-designed sterling silver ornate piece of art that is the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy. I use the present tense here because that wondrous masterpiece is not only a survivor of the era but also available for you to soak in with your eyes while on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum today...at this very moment.
 
When Jackson protested the AAA-Speedway decision they were slapped down with the ban. The AAA, ever-insecure about their grip on power over American motorsport, frequently resorted to the iron fist mentality associated with bullies.
 
All of this was most unfortunate for Leigh Lynch, who endured the incessant gut check that was virtually every moment of that terrifying contest called the 1909 Wheeler-Schebler Trophy race. That's why we thought you might enjoy getting to know him better.
 
C'mon, click thru. Make the time to dive deep into the career of this deserving race car driver.