Indianapolis is known throughout the world for its annual 500-mile race held over Memorial weekend each May. Despite being known as ‘The Richest Prize In Racing’ the circuit where the race is held has far humbler origins.
Initially, the 2.5 mile circuit was constructed to provide a means of testing and developing new American car designs. It was the brainchild of Carl Fisher, an early car salesman. In partnership with Jim Allison, Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby he pushed ahead with his plans and by 1909 the track was ready. Sporadic races between manufacturers were envisaged by the group and, on August 19th, 1909, cars competed in anger for the first time. The punishment inflicted on the circuit by the heavy machines revealed serious flaws in the track surface, which contributed to several deaths during the meeting. The solution was found by paving the circuit with more than three million bricks, earning the track its nickname, ‘The Brickyard.’
After several unsuccessful car and motorcycle races it was decided that the speedway should hold just one annual race each year with a lucrative purse. The inaugural Indianapolis 500 took place on Memorial Day, 1911. It was won by Ray Harroun in, for the time, a highly unconventional car. His yellow Marmon Wasp was not only the first car to have a rear-view mirror; it was also the only car in the race without a riding mechanic.
European manufacturers fared well at the speedway in the early years. Peugeot, Delage and Mercedes all won there in the race’s first decade. Two American engineers were to change all that. Throughout the roaring twenties the race would be dominated by the elegant cars and engines of Harry Miller, the son of a German immigrant. His success brought with it the opportunity to indulge an extravagant lifestyle. In 1933 the company went bankrupt but the engine designs were bought by Fred Offenhauser, an employee of Miller. Over the next 27 races Offenhauser engines would fail to win the 500 only three times.
The circuit had been sold in 1927 to World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker who made improvements, including the construction of a golf course on the site. Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner of the 500 in 1936 and, in an interview many years later for BBC TV’s ‘The Power and the Glory,’ recalled the perils of racing on the circuit in the early days. “The track was rough, and the bricks would buckle, on account of the heat.” There was also another unnecessary danger which Meyer remembered:
“We had a concrete wall at the top of the track which leaned the wrong way. It leaned outward instead of inward and when you hit it would just shoot you right over the top.”
Although tarmac started to be laid before the outbreak of World War Two it would take until 1961 to complete the resurfacing. As a reminder of the track’s past a yard of bricks was left uncovered at the start/finish line. 1936 also saw the first appearance of the impressive Borg-Warner trophy. Standing over five feet tall it is engraved in bas-relief with the likeness of every winner since Ray Harroun. Louis Meyer also became the first driver to drink a pint of milk after winning the 500 in 1936, a tradition which continues to this day.
SOURCES:
'The Power and the Glory' (BBC TV)
‘132 of the Most Unusual Cars that ever ran at Indianapolis’ (Lyle Kenyon Engol)
