Recently I came across what I think is a gem of an article on Louis Chevrolet. Written by AP reporter Don Pryor in 1938, this was not garden variety sports wire copy. Pryor describes visiting Chevrolet's humble home to find Louis a tired, disabled man with few resources. He paints an image of the icon's home as modest with a few of his favorite trophies on display.

It may seem a stretch, but nineteenth century orator Colonel Robert (Bob) Ingersoll had a very real impact on automobile racing - as long as you believe the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been a factor in the sport. According to all the biographers of Speedway founder and original president Carl Fisher, he devoured Ingersoll's teachings, reading every volume of the philosopher's works.

There isn't a lot of information on this site about the classic Vanderbilt Cup road race because of my relationship with Howard Kroplick. I first encountered Howard when I developed an article on the 100th anniversary of America's first international road race in 2004.

Derided by critics, Barney Oldfield saw himself first as an entertainer and secondly as a race driver. He was competitive and took pride in his accomplishments, which were significant. He was a master of early sprint racing on dirt horse tracks and held every track record from 1 to 50 miles in 1904. He mastered road racing as well, winning major events in Venice, California as well as finishing second in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup.