1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: The Day in History Class is production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: show that speeds through the mile markers of history one 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: day at a time. I'm Gabe Lousier and in this episode, 5 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: we're looking at the not so smooth start of one 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: of the world's most famous racing institutions, including how it 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: managed to turn things around and eventually earn its place 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: in the winner's circle. The day was August nine, o nine, 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted its inaugural auto race. The 10 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 1: historic track in Indiana is best known today as the 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: home of the Indie five hundred, a grueling five hundred 12 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: mile race that's now considered one of the most prestigious 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: motor sports events of them all. That race was held 14 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: for the first time in nineteen eleven, and it helped 15 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: establish the speedways reputation as quote the greatest race course 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: in the world. However, when the track first opened in 17 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: nineteen o nine, it was a far from perfect venue 18 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: for the fledgling sport, a fact that some spectators, drivers 19 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: and mechanics learned the hard way. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway 20 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: was built during the very early days of the automobile. 21 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: In fact, Henry Ford's Model T had rolled off the 22 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: assembly line just one year earlier. By the turn of 23 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, car racing had become well established and 24 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: quite popular in Europe, but in the US the sports 25 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: appeal was still incredibly limited, since most of the American 26 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: public couldn't afford a car and therefore had little interest 27 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: in driving. Early auto races were the domain of two 28 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: niche groups, car manufact xturers who wanted a way to 29 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: show off what their vehicles could do, and wealthy men 30 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: who saw car races as an exciting new pastime for 31 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: the upper class. Prior to the construction of dedicated speedways, 32 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: American car races were either held on horse racing tracks 33 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: or on city streets. In both cases, drivers wore goggles 34 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: and headgear for protection, but the cars themselves lacked even 35 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,839 Speaker 1: the most basic precautions, such as seatbelts or windshields. This 36 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: lack of safety features posed serious risks to early drivers, 37 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: and racing on courses that weren't designed for high speed 38 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: vehicles only added to that danger. In nineteen o nine, 39 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: four Indianapolis businessmen recognized the need for a new kind 40 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: of raceway designed specifically for automobiles. At the time, the 41 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: city was home to a growing automobile industry, and the 42 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: investors believed a local speedway would be the perfect place 43 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: for car manufactures to showcase their wares and sell the 44 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: mostly non driving public on the idea of getting behind 45 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: the wheel. It was a prudent idea, as the dirt 46 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: roads around Indianapolis were rugged and uneven, just as they 47 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: were in most parts of the country. A race track 48 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: would offer a safe environment to test out new cars, 49 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 1: and after watching a few races, some spectators might even 50 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: be convinced to stop by a showroom and buy a 51 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: car of their own. The project was spearheaded by Carl Fisher, 52 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: with the financial backing of his fellow investors James Allison, 53 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: Arthur Nuby, and Frank Wheeler. The future track would be 54 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: built on more than three hundred acres of farmland on 55 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: the northwest edge of Indianapolis. Construction began on March fifteenth, 56 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: nine o nine, and was completed shockingly fast just a 57 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: few months later. However, the investors were so eager to 58 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: make back their money that they actually held a race 59 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: there before or the motorway was even finished. It wasn't 60 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: a car race though. Instead, on June five, tens of 61 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: thousands of spectators filled the stands to watch a hot 62 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: air balloon race. It was a slow going affair, but 63 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: the event showed Fisher and his crew that there was 64 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: indeed an appetite for commercial racing. Following the success of 65 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: the balloon race, the investors decided to christen their newly 66 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: finished speedway by holding a three day long series of 67 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: car races. Each race would consist of two laps around 68 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: the rectangular two and a half mile track. The layout 69 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: featured two main straightaways measuring five eighths of a mile each, 70 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: along with two shorter straightaways coming in at one eighth 71 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: of a mile each. Those street sections of the track 72 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: were linked by four turns, each of which was exactly 73 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: one quarter of a mile long. The grand opening of 74 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway took place on August nine, n 75 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: O nine. A total of seven five mile races were 76 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: scheduled for that day, and an estimated crowd of twenty 77 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: thousand people turned out to watch them. The very first 78 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,799 Speaker 1: race was won by Austrian engineer Louise Schwitzer, who bested 79 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: his competition with an average speed of fifty seven point 80 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: four miles per hour. The next four races of the 81 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: day were won by Louis Chevrolet, Wilfred Bourke, Ray Haroon 82 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: and Bob Berman respectively. Unfortunately, the last two races that 83 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: day had to be called off due to safety concerns. 84 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: During the second race, a loose rock cracked the goggles 85 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: of Louis Chevrolet, and in one of the later races, 86 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: Wilfred Bourke and his ride along mechanic Harry Holcombe actually 87 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: died in a car crash. The races resumed the next 88 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: day and were held without incident, but on the third 89 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: day tragedy struck again. That time a car crash claimed 90 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: the lives of a second mechanic as well as two spectators. 91 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: The day's remaining races were canceled and the speedway was 92 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: closed after just three days of operation. The track was 93 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: supposed to be approving ground for the safety and viability 94 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: of automobiles, but a crucial oversight and its construction had 95 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: made it just the opposite. The owners had opted to 96 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: use a mix of crushed rock and tar for the 97 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 1: track surface, hoping to provide racers with something sturdier and 98 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: more uniform than mere dirt. However, that decision backfired when 99 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: the track began to break apart in numerous places, causing 100 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 1: multiple drivers to lose control of their vehicles. During the 101 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 1: speedways closure, the surface of the track was replaced with 102 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: three point two million paving bricks, which were laid in 103 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: a bed of sand and securely fixed in place with mortar. 104 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: The venue reopened in December of nineteen o nine and 105 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: was quickly nicknamed the Brickyard in honor of its much 106 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: improved track. A new series of races was held there 107 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: over the course of the next two years, but by 108 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven attendance had begun to slip and the owners 109 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: decided to shift focus away from short five mile races. Instead, 110 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: they would host a longer annual event with a much 111 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: bigger prize on the line, and so on May that year, 112 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: the Indianapolis five hundred was born. It took driver Ray 113 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: Haroon six hours and forty two minutes to complete two 114 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: hundred laps around the track, giving him an average speed 115 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: of just under seventy five miles per hour. He earned 116 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: more than fourteen thousand dollars for his trouble, the equivalent 117 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: of more than four hundred thousand dollars today. The longer 118 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: form race was a huge hit with the public, bringing 119 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: national attention to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and motor sports 120 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: as a whole. The Indie five hundred has continued to 121 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: be held there every year since nineteen eleven, with the 122 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: exception of nineteen seventeen to nineteen eighteen and nineteen forty 123 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: two to nineteen forty five when the country had its 124 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: hands full with two World Wars. The average crowd size 125 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: for the yearly event is approximately four hundred thousand people, 126 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: making the Indie five hundred the best attended sporting event 127 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: in the United States. Over the years, plenty has changed 128 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For one thing, the races 129 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: are now much more fast paced, with drivers routinely reaching 130 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: average speeds of a hundred and ninety miles per hour 131 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: or more. The track itself is also changed considerably. By 132 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six, many of the tracks trademark bricks had 133 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: begun to wear down, leaving some parts of the course 134 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: much rougher than others. Beginning that year, the rough patches 135 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: were routinely paved over with asphalt, and by nineteen sixty one, 136 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: almost entire track was covered with pavers. The lone exception 137 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: is a three foot strip of bricks that was intentionally 138 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: left exposed at the start slash finish line. It's a 139 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: nostalgic nod to the speedways history and to the role 140 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: it's played in the development of modern cars and modern racing. 141 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,559 Speaker 1: In the last few decades, winners of the in D 142 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 1: five hundred and other premier races held at the track 143 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: have taken to honoring that legacy in their own way. 144 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: After crossing the finish line, winners typically plants a big 145 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: fat kiss right on the masonry. Smooching some dirty bricks 146 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: might seem like an odd way to celebrate a victory, 147 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: but it sure beats kissing crushed rocks and tar or 148 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: you know so I've heard. I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully 149 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about racing history today 150 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. You can learn even more about 151 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 152 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: t D I HC Show, and if you have any 153 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my way 154 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 1: at this Day at I Heart media dot com. Thanks 155 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: as always to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and 156 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back here 157 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,199 Speaker 1: again soon for another day in history class.