Hughie Hughes at American Grand Prize

Mercer driver Hughie Hughes at the 1912 running of the American Grand Prize held at a 7.88-mile public roads course in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin near Milwaukee. Hughes' Mercer is seen parked at the side of the road after its fuel line broke on lap 18.
 
This race was overshadowed by two devestating accidents affecting two of the biggest names in the sport: David Bruce-Brown and Ralph De Palma. Bruce-Brown was killed in a practice accident and De Palma suffered the most serious injuries of his career when his Mercedes left the course late in the race, throwing him from the car. His abdomen was impaled by a corn stalk left over from recent harvest days. De Palma, who had won the Vanderbilt Cup over the same course just days prior, survived for one of the most successful driving careers in racing history, including his 1915 win in the Indianapolis 500.
 
Hughes raced in two Indianapolis 500 races  and in 1913 finished third. He also raced in the 1916 Harvest Classic, narrowly losing the 50-mile race to Johnny Aitken by a mere 27 hundredths of a second. Less than three months later on December 2, 1916 Hughes was killed in the opening race at the Uniontown, Pennsylvania board track. Check out this article for more background on Hughes.