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- Barney Oldfield, #3 Delage and Cycle Car, San Francisco, California, 1915 - Barney Oldfield was America's first great racing hero. Though best known for his thrilling exhibition races, Oldfield also participated in sanctioned events -- including two drives in the Indianapolis 500 -- during his 16-year competitive driving career. Oldfield's fame extended beyond the track. He appeared on stage and screen, and he endorsed products ranging from tires to soft drinks.
- 1915
- Collections - Artifact
Barney Oldfield, #3 Delage and Cycle Car, San Francisco, California, 1915
Barney Oldfield was America's first great racing hero. Though best known for his thrilling exhibition races, Oldfield also participated in sanctioned events -- including two drives in the Indianapolis 500 -- during his 16-year competitive driving career. Oldfield's fame extended beyond the track. He appeared on stage and screen, and he endorsed products ranging from tires to soft drinks.
- Barney Oldfield, #1 Maxwell, San Francisco, California, 1915 - Barney Oldfield was America's first great racing hero. Though best known for his thrilling exhibition races, Oldfield also participated in sanctioned events -- including two drives in the Indianapolis 500 -- during his 16-year competitive driving career. Oldfield's fame extended beyond the track. He appeared on stage and screen, and he endorsed products ranging from tires to soft drinks.
- 1915
- Collections - Artifact
Barney Oldfield, #1 Maxwell, San Francisco, California, 1915
Barney Oldfield was America's first great racing hero. Though best known for his thrilling exhibition races, Oldfield also participated in sanctioned events -- including two drives in the Indianapolis 500 -- during his 16-year competitive driving career. Oldfield's fame extended beyond the track. He appeared on stage and screen, and he endorsed products ranging from tires to soft drinks.
- Joe Dawson, #2 Marmon, Vanderbilt Cup Race - Two race teams drove Marmon vehicles at the 1911 Vanderbilt Cup Race in Savannah, Georgia. Hopes were high for victory since a Marmon had won at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 earlier in the year. These race cars, however, did not fare as well. The #2 Marmon, driven by Bob Burman, left after seven laps. One lap later, the other Marmon dropped out.
- November 27, 1911
- Collections - Artifact
Joe Dawson, #2 Marmon, Vanderbilt Cup Race
Two race teams drove Marmon vehicles at the 1911 Vanderbilt Cup Race in Savannah, Georgia. Hopes were high for victory since a Marmon had won at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 earlier in the year. These race cars, however, did not fare as well. The #2 Marmon, driven by Bob Burman, left after seven laps. One lap later, the other Marmon dropped out.
- Ralph Mulford Winning Vanderbilt Cup Race - Ralph Mulford raced to victory in his American-made Lozier at the 1911 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The race was held in Savannah, Georgia -- previous Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on Long Island, New York. Mulford beat out 13 other drivers. He averaged 74 miles per hour over the 17-lap, 17-mile road course.
- November 27, 1911
- Collections - Artifact
Ralph Mulford Winning Vanderbilt Cup Race
Ralph Mulford raced to victory in his American-made Lozier at the 1911 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The race was held in Savannah, Georgia -- previous Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on Long Island, New York. Mulford beat out 13 other drivers. He averaged 74 miles per hour over the 17-lap, 17-mile road course.
- Barney Oldfield Driving a Christie Race Car at Ascot Speedway, March 5, 1916 -
- March 05, 1916
- Collections - Artifact
Barney Oldfield Driving a Christie Race Car at Ascot Speedway, March 5, 1916
- Cliff Bergere in Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special, Indianapolis 500 Race, 1941 - Cliff Bergere was a movie stuntman before going into auto racing in 1927. He was a well-known figure at the Indianapolis 500, where he competed 16 times from 1927 to 1947. Bergere placed fifth in the 1941 Indy 500. He finished the race without making a single pit stop -- though he was nearly overcome by fumes from his engine.
- May 30, 1941
- Collections - Artifact
Cliff Bergere in Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special, Indianapolis 500 Race, 1941
Cliff Bergere was a movie stuntman before going into auto racing in 1927. He was a well-known figure at the Indianapolis 500, where he competed 16 times from 1927 to 1947. Bergere placed fifth in the 1941 Indy 500. He finished the race without making a single pit stop -- though he was nearly overcome by fumes from his engine.
- Board Track, Playa Del Rey, California - Faster race cars prompted promoters to build board tracks in the 1910s. Wooden boards 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 one-mile Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey, California, operated from 1910-1913.
- circa 1911
- Collections - Artifact
Board Track, Playa Del Rey, California
Faster race cars prompted promoters to build board tracks in the 1910s. Wooden boards 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 one-mile Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey, California, operated from 1910-1913.
- Winners of the 1933 Indianapolis 500, Driver Louis Meyer and Mechanic Lawson Harris, in #36 Tydol Special - Driver Louis Meyer and riding mechanic Lawson Harris won the Indianapolis 500 in 1933, averaging 104.162 mph. Their Miller-built car was sponsored by Tydol gasoline. It was the second of Meyer's three Indy 500 victories. Meyer is also credited with starting the Indy tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane -- he downed a glass of buttermilk after his 1936 win.
- 1933
- Collections - Artifact
Winners of the 1933 Indianapolis 500, Driver Louis Meyer and Mechanic Lawson Harris, in #36 Tydol Special
Driver Louis Meyer and riding mechanic Lawson Harris won the Indianapolis 500 in 1933, averaging 104.162 mph. Their Miller-built car was sponsored by Tydol gasoline. It was the second of Meyer's three Indy 500 victories. Meyer is also credited with starting the Indy tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane -- he downed a glass of buttermilk after his 1936 win.
- Mortimer Roberts, #31 Abbott-Detroit, Tiedman Trophy Race - Charles Abbott formed Abbott Motor Company in Detroit in 1909. The firm offered multiple models under the Abbott-Detroit brand, all priced from about $1,200 up to $3,500. Abbott-Detroit cars competed successfully in early circuit races and hill climbs. The company overreached itself by relocating to a larger factory in Cleveland in 1916. Bankruptcy ended operations in early 1918.
- November 27, 1911
- Collections - Artifact
Mortimer Roberts, #31 Abbott-Detroit, Tiedman Trophy Race
Charles Abbott formed Abbott Motor Company in Detroit in 1909. The firm offered multiple models under the Abbott-Detroit brand, all priced from about $1,200 up to $3,500. Abbott-Detroit cars competed successfully in early circuit races and hill climbs. The company overreached itself by relocating to a larger factory in Cleveland in 1916. Bankruptcy ended operations in early 1918.
- Pete Henderson, #16 Dusenberg, Ora Haibe, #14 Sebring, John Aitken, #2 Peugeot, Sheepshead Bay, 1914 -
- 1914
- Collections - Artifact
Pete Henderson, #16 Dusenberg, Ora Haibe, #14 Sebring, John Aitken, #2 Peugeot, Sheepshead Bay, 1914