Oldfield Wins Venice

This picture was taken March 17, 1915, in the Venice 300 (California). Barney Oldfield in the #1 Maxwell is seen here getting to the checkered flag first. Just three days later Oldfield picked up another road course win at the Tucson 100-mile road race - March 20, 1915. In the Tucson race, his Maxwell race car carried the number 1.
 
Note the running surface is board plank. The course was not a board track, but a road course. Organizers erected this wood plank turn with banking with the hope of increasing lap speeds. This was not unheard of in designing public roads circuits in early days.
 
Both of Oldfield's 1915 road course victories were important to the driver's resume. Still seen as a short track racer and barnstormer, the grassroots hero demonstrated his versatility as a road course winner as well. Check out another Oldfield image from the Venice race.
 
Thanks to Chuck Rudy for providing this photo.