Betty Blythe was a society and women's interest reporter at the Indianapolis Star in 1909. She became the first woman to circle the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a race car during practice for the very first races at the track. Her story is compeling reporting and provides wonderful insights to the sensations of being in the cockpit of an early race car at speed. Her driver was as good as they came: "Wild" Bob Burman.

This is the kind of photo I don't think you would see on the front page of a major metro paper today, but that is not to say that news coverage has become less graphic over the years. It's something to ponder. Regardless it is dramatic as we see the last few seconds of the life of the first driver to die from an accident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sadly, the incident occurred on the very first day of racing at the storied track.
 

Doing thorough research sure does reveal some interesting information. Until recently I had never heard of W. Guy Wall who designed the winning National race car from the 1912 Indianapolis 500. If you know more, please fill me in.
 

I did a summary of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Founder Carl Gaham Fisher's career yesterday that included an old portrait image I rescued from microfilm. I think you will find this a tidy distillation of the man's life complete with links that will connect you to a wealth of information about this accomplished man.