Lineup Before Start of 1911 Indianapolis 500
THF228679 / Lineup Before Start of 1911 Indianapolis 500
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Artifact Overview
Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909 with multiple races each season. In 1911, track promoters decided instead to host just one spectacular event each Memorial Day. The inaugural Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, with $27,500 in prizes, drew 40 qualifying cars and 80,000 spectators. Ray Harroun won with the yellow #32 Marmon Wasp, and the Indianapolis 500 became an American institution.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
30 May 1911
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
2009.103.P.266.22
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 8.00 in
Width: 10.00 in
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Related Content
SetIndianapolis 500 Materials at The Henry Ford
- 25 Artifacts
When Carl Fisher and his partners opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, the crushed stone and tar track surface quickly proved too dangerous. Fisher had the entire track resurfaced with 3.2 million paving bricks. The track was fully paved with asphalt by 1961, but a three-foot brick strip -- at the start/finish line -- remains, as does the speedway's nickname: the Brickyard.