Korn "Indianapolis" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1940-1941

As automobile racing speeds increased, repurposed dirt horse tracks became inadequate. In the 1910s promoters turned to wooden boards, which provided a smooth road surface and were less expensive than bricks or concrete. But rotting wood required frequent replacement. Improvements in concrete and asphalt made board tracks obsolete in the 1930s. The 1.25-mile board track at Altoona, Pennsylvania, operated from 1923-1931.

Tether cars, gas-powered model race cars, were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Few tether car makers matched the skill of Barney Korn. His remarkably detailed and largely hand-built models stood apart from mass produced units by larger manufacturers. Korn's models weren't big sellers – they were too slow for serious racers and too expensive for amateurs – but modern collectors value them for their beauty and rarity.

Explore the story of Barney Korn, the Leonardo da Vinci of the model cars known as tether cars or spindizzies, raced by adults in the 1930s and 1940s.