1879 – 5/8/1879 – New York,USA
George Selden of Rochester, NY. filed for the first patent for an automobile. His application included not only the engine but its use in a 4 wheeled vehicle. He then filed a continuing series of amendments to his application which stretched the legal process out 16 years before the patent was granted.The US Patent Office finally granted the patent on 11/5/1895.
1886 – Germany
Karl Benz took his 1886 Patent Motorwagen for its first drive. Benz was granted the first patent for a new vehicle, the automobile.
1893 – 9/21/1893 – USA
Charles & J. Frank Duryea introduced the first American gas powered, four wheel, automobile. The modest carriage was powered by a one cylinder engine. In January 1894 Frank made what he believed was his first truly successful road test. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company was established in 1895 and was incorporated later in the year.
1894 – 7/22/1894 – France
Motor racing was started in France, as a direct result of the enthusiasm with which the French public embraced the motor car. Manufacturers supported early events due to the possibility of using auto-racing as a promotion for their cars. The first motor race took place on July 22, 1894 and was organized by the Le Petit Journal, a Parisian newspaper. It was run over the eighty mile (128 km) distance between Paris and Rouen. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first to finish after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 19km/h. He finished three and a half minutes ahead of Georges Lemaître in a Peugeot, followed by Doriot ,in another Pugeot, sixteen and a half minutes later. They were followed by René Panhard (Panhard) at thirty-three and a half minutes and Émile Levassor (Panhard) almost an hour later. The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics. De Dion’s steam car needed a stoker, like a train locomotive, so the judges decided to disqualify and ban the car. This began a long history of clever innovations being banned from auto-racing events.
Interestingly, a Benz Velo also participated in the race. Since then, the automaker, now Mercedes Benz, has competed in nearly every form of motorsport and is the current F1 manufacturers champion.
1895 – USA
George Selden was granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile some sixteen years after originally applying for the patent in 1879.
1895 – France
The first official auto race in the world, a 732 mile, round trip race from Paris to Bordeaux, was won by Emile Levassor in a Panhard-Levassor. Continuing what would unfortunately become an auto-racing tradition, Leassor was disqualified. Afterward the victory was awarded to M. Rigoulot driving a Peugeot. A heavy prize purse was made possible by contributions from American newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett and Wm. K. Vanderbilt.
1895 – 11/28/1895 – USA
The Chicago Times-Herald offered a $2,000 prize for an automobile race from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Il. and back. James Franklin Duryea, driving a Duryea won the six car, 54.36 mile race. As it was held during one of Chicago’s great snowstorms, the race was a harrowing one. Despite the weather, Duryea completed the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes, at an average speed of 5 1/4 miles per hour.
1896 – 9/1896 – USA
The world’s first closed circuit auto race, on an oval track, was contested by eight four wheel vehicles on a one mile dirt, horse racing, track in Cranston, R.I. The five mile race was won by driver A.H.Whiting in an electric powered auto at an average speed of 26.8 mph. Five gas powered vehicles built by the Duryea brothers of Massachusetts also entered the event.
1898
Automotive equipment innovation is progressing at an astonishing rate. Panhard cooled down their motors with a gill-tubed radiator, the tiller had been replaced by the steering wheel and pneumatic tires had become common since Michelin first introduced them in 1895.
1898 – 5/1/1898 – France
The first recorded fatal accident in an auto race occurred during the 90 mile Marseilles to Nice race in France. The Marquis de Montaignac went to pass the slower running M. de Montariol. As Montaignac passed, he raised his hand in gratitude but then lost control and crashed into Montariol who was forced off the road and overturned. Montariol was thrown clear of his Benz but his mechanic was crushed to death. In the instant Montaignac turned to watch the accident, his hand appeared to come off the steering tiller. He also rolled his vehicle, killing both himself and his mechanic.
1899 – 7/1/1899 – France/Belgium
The first documented instance of a woman taking part in a automobile race was Mme. Labrousse, who came in fifth in the three seater class in the Paris to Spa race. It is not known how many occupants were in the car or if she had a stint behind the wheel.
1900 – USA/France
The eccentric James Gordon Bennett Jr, millionaire owner of the New York Herald newspaper and the International Herald Tribune was always looking for a way to draw in new readers and was not afraid to create the news himself if need be. He also hoped that the creation of an international motorsports event would drive automobile manufacturers to improve their cars. The new era of self-powered vehicles, the automobile, was upon us and Bennet, maybe predicting the full future impact of automobiles on the 20th century, created the first international race series. In 1899, Bennett offered a trophy, money and other incentives to the Automobile Club de France, to be raced for annually by the automobile clubs in the various European countries. The conditions for entering demanded that every part of a competing vehicle had to be produced in the country that it represented, including the wheels, and entered by that country’s automotive governing body. The first race, in 1900, was held from Paris to Lyon, in France, and was won by a Frenchman Fernand Charron, driving a Panhard-Levassor.
1901 – The French Grand Prix
It is generally agreed that the first use of the term Grand Prix to describe an auto-race, was at LeMans, in 1901. The words Grand Prix translate to “Biggest or Best Prize”.
(Some historians contend that the first event to carry the name Grand Prix was the Pau Grand Prix in 1901, although this race was a one-off, not a series.)
1901
Worldwide, a reported 4000 automobiles, produced by more than 50 manufacturers, were in operation.
1901 – 10/10/1901 – USA
His initial auto building venture, the Detroit Auto-Mobile Company, having just been liquidated, Henry Ford drove his 26 horsepower race car, “the 999”, 10 laps around a one mile track in Grosse Point, MI. at an average speed of 46 mph. His speed beat the race favorite Alexander Winton and his 70HP “Bullet”. This would be Ford’s only race as a driver.
Ford would use his fame from winning this one race and his prize of $1000 to find investors and form the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford eventually succeeded in raising $28,000 to found the Ford Motor Company and began production and sales of his first offering, the Model A runabout.
1902 – USA
The American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago. Nine loosely knit clubs of horseless carriages with less than 1000 members banded together for the purpose of bettering driving conditions
1902 – Belgium
A road race on a 53 mile circuit near Bastogne, Belgium was the first European race on a closed circuit. All previous races on the continent were held on roads racing city to city.
1902 – 10/23/1902 – USA
Famous bicycle racer, Barney Oldfield, won the Manufacturers Challenge Cup, a five mile auto race at Grosse Point, MI. He drove Henry Ford’s car, “the 999”.
Shortly thereafter, Oldfield was suspended by the AAA for his “outlaw” underground racing activities and was not allowed to race at sanctioned events for much of the prime of his career. A true showman, speed records, match races and exhibitions made up most of Barney Oldfield’s career. By 1914 he was reinstated.
1903 – 3/28/1903 – Daytona Beach
Alexander Winton sets a new speed record of 69 mph for the “flying mile” with his Winton Bullet at Daytona Beach, FL.
1903 – 6/20/1903 – USA
Barney Oldfield became the first man to drive a gasoline-powered race car around a one mile dirt oval in less than a minute at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Always one to give the press a great quote, Oldfield exclaimed: “I tell you, gentlemen, no man can drive faster and live!” Oldfield was driving Henry Ford’s “the 999”.
1903 – 9/11/1903 – USA
William Jones wins the first auto race on the one-mile Wisconsin Fair Grounds oval. The famous “Milwaukee Mile” is still the host for open wheel Indy Car events into the 2000s.
1903 – 9/11/1903 – USA
The Wisconsin State Fairgrounds held its initial race. The one mile oval continues to be the oldest continuously operating auto racing track in the world.
1903
Out of a total world roll out of 61,927 automobiles,
30,204 were manufactured in France,
11,235 were manufactured in America,
9,437 were manufactured in England,
6,904 were manufactured in Germany,
2,839 were manufactured in Belgium and
1,308 were manufactured in Italy.
1904 – 1/12/1904 – USA
To promote his new Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford raced across frozen Lake St. Clairin a Ford 999. His land speed record of 91.37MPH stood for 15 days.
1904 – 10/8/1904 – USA
The Vanderbilt Cup was held on a 28.4 mile circuit at Long Island, NY. The race’s promoter, the wealthy William K. Vanderbilt hoped to encourage Americans to develop cars and drivers on a level commensurate with the French. The race was won by American George Heath in a French Panhard. A checkered flag was waved for Heath to signify his victory. It is the first recorded use of this motorsports tradition. Vanderbilt is considered by many, the father of American auto racing.
1906 – France
The only race at the time to regularly carry the name Grand Prix was organized by the Automobile Club de France (ACF), of which the first took place in 1906. The circuit used, which was based in Le Mans, was roughly triangular in shape, each lap covering 105 kilometres (65 miles). Six laps were to run each day, and each lap took approximately an hour using the relatively primitive cars of the day. The driving force behind the decision to race on a circuit – as opposed to racing on ordinary roads from town to town – was the Paris to Madrid road race of 1903. During this race a number of people, both drivers and pedestrians – including Marcel Renault – were killed and the race was stopped by the French authorities at Bordeaux. Further road based events were banned.
1906 – Targa Florio, Italy
One of the oldest long distance endurance road racing events, the Targa Florio, was the brainchild of Italian race driver Vincenzi Florio. First run in 1906, the race was held around a 72 kilometer circuit, the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, around the Italian mountains surrounding the city of Sicily. The first Targa Florio covered 3 laps, through treacherous rural roads with mountainous curves and elevation changes that at times, would see frequent temperature, precipitation and other weather changes. Alessandro Cagno won the inaugural race in 1906.
1906 – 10/6/1906 – New York, USA
The Vanderbilt Cup race was again held at Long Island and was won by Louis Wagner in a Darracq. Crowd control Issues ended the event. After the race Wagner commented, “The miracle was not my winning but that hundreds were not killed in my doing so”.
1909 – USA
Louis Chevrolet won the fifth “Indy car” race at Crown Point, Indianapolis. He was driving a Buick.
1909 – Indianapolis
The Brickyard Is Born in the Wake of Tragedy. The inaugural race at the newly built Indianapolis Motor Speedway turned out to be a huge disaster. The track, made of crushed rock held together by tar, broke apart, killing two drivers and a spectator in the course of a race that lasted just two laps.
It was rebuilt that same year with 3.2 million bricks to create a safer environment for drivers and fans alike. The “Brickyard” was born.
1909 – USA
Alice Ramsey, only twenty-two at the time, drives across the United States, covering 3,800 miles. Only 152 miles of the trip are on paved roads.
1910 – USA
The year was 1910, over one hundred years ago. The first running of the Indianapolis 500 would not be until 1911, a year later. What a difference a century makes. To put things in perspective, here are some U.S. statistics for the Year 1910:
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Fuel for automobiles was sold only in drug stores.
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
Due in large part to the growing auto industry, an established mechanical engineer could earn about $5,000 per year.
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
1910
De Dion-Bouton introduces the first “mass-produced” V8 engine in the world.
1910 – 3/16/1910 – Daytona Beach
Driving great, Barney Oldfield, piloting his “Blitzen Benz”, set a new land speed record over a standing mile, running 131.7 mph (211.23 kph) on the sand at Daytona Beach. Afterwards Oldfield commented, “…for fully a third of the distance the wheels were off the ground while I fought for control…I knew if a tire burst I would be beyond mortal help. I shot through space until all before me became enshrouded in a dark haze and I approached the verge of unconsciousness…I had traveled faster than any other human being on the face of the earth”.
He went on to use the car to break the existing mile, two mile (3 km), and kilometer records at Daytona Beach, Florida.
1910 – 5/30/1910 – Indianapolis
Approximately 50,000 spectators crowd into IMS for the final day of the three-day meet, many being forced into the infield because the grandstands are full. Ray Harroun wins the 50-mile race for the Remy Grand Brassard trophy – exactly one year to the day before he will win the inaugural Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Ironically, Harroun had escaped injury in a hard crash earlier in the day, in a Marmon “Wasp” carrying the No. 32 – the same number as his “500”-winning entry will be a year from now. Everyone seems happy with the new brick surface as, other than for one broken leg, there are no serious injuries.
1911 – Indianapolis 500
Modern race qualifying is often described as a test of man and machine. But, in the case of the very first Indy 500, it was better described as a test of postman and stamp.
While competitors had to prove a speed worthy of entry into the race, with a 75 mph minimum speed over a flying quarter-mile, starting positions were picked by the order in which entry forms were received. This unusual procedure found pioneering race engineer Ray Harroun sitting six rows back at the wheel of his yellow Marmon Wasp racecar.
However, on Memorial Day, Ray Harroun, nicknamed “the Little Professor,” for his small stature and academic demeanor, won the first Indianapolis 500. The race was a smashing success. Indianapolis all but shut down as legions of fans descended on the city, filling hotels for miles around. More than 80,000 turned out to see 37 drivers compete for a record-setting purse of $27,500. Harroun’s car the Marmon Wasp was unique in that it was the only car with a single seat. Thirty-nine of the other entrants had a riding mechanic. To save weight and space Harroun rode alone, having outfitted his Wasp with the very first automobile rearview mirror. The race featured the first rolling start and first use of a pace car.
Halfway through the nearly seven hour race, Harroun had passed all of the other competitors to take the lead. A hard-fought battle with fellow American driver Ralph Mulford marked the second half of the race, but in the end, Ray Harroun emerged victorious. Harroun won the race with an average speed of 74.602 miles per hour.
After taking the checkered flag, the winner didn’t have much to say, but did have a favor to ask. “I’m tired,” he is reported to have said. “May I have some water, and perhaps a sandwich, please?”
Ideally, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing would run without issue each May, but the Indianapolis 500 has seen many controversies in its 100 years. Which moments stand out above the others?
From the very first running, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing has seen controversy.
Ray Harroun is credited with winning the initial running. But immediately following the race, rival Ralph Mulford protested, claiming a he should have been scored the winner. Mulford’s claim was he had lapped Harroun when the Marmon driver pitted to replace a worn tire. It seemed reasonable, given that scoring was disrupted by an accident at the same time of Harroun’s stop. But officials noted that Mulford’s subsequent stop allowed Harroun back by.
The protest was thrown out and Harroun was confirmed the winner. Thus began the scoring debates, which the Speedway would see many times throughout the years.
Regardless of the controversies, soon known as the “Greatest S pectacle in Racing” The Indianapolis 500 would be an annual event (with the exception of the primary years of WWI and WWII), that many would claim to be the most important car race in the world.
Swiss racing driver and talented engineer Louis Chevrolet also contested the first 500 driving a Buick for Willam Durant in the inaugural 500 mile sweepstake. A broken camshaft forced an early retirement. Louis’s brothers, Arthur and Gaston, were also avid racing drivers.
As for Ray Harroun, having won the first Indy 500, he then retired from driving to focus on the engineering side of racing, presumably never once looking back.
1912 – France
A Swiss engineer, Ernest Henry, working for Puegeot, designed a 4 cylinder, double overhead camshaft, 7.6 litre, engine with 4 valves per cylinder and hemispherical combustion chambers. Known as the L-76, its head was formed from a single casting. Henry’s revolutionary design was the basis for engines in use for years to come.
1912 – 5/30/1912 – Indianapolis 500
Ralph DePalma’s Mercedes breaks down after leading 196 laps of the 1912 Indy 500. Joe Dawson, in a National, wins after only leading 2 laps in his Indy career. No driver has ever matched DePalma’s 196 fruitless laps in the lead in one Indy 500. In only it’s second year the Indy 500 became the highest paying sporting event in the world when Carl Fisher increased the total purse to $50,000 and first prize to $20,000.
1912 – France
The Sunbeam Automobile Company flaunts conventional race thinking by simultaneously entering two teams of 3 liter cars in French races running at the same time. They come in 1st, thru 3rd in Coupe de l’Auto for touring cars at Dieppe and 3rd thru 5th in the French Grand Prix, racing against cars that have engines with much larger cubic capacity. As a result, their virtually identical production touring cars see vastly improved sales. (Hence the phrase – Race on Sunday – Sell on Monday?)
1913 – Indianapolis 500
Jules Goux of France becomes the first foreign born winner of the Indianapolis 500. In 1913 the Europeans arrived in force, and Frenchman Jules Goux won the race in his first appearance. It’s rumored that he drank six bottles of champagne during pit stops and told the press, “Without the good wine, I could not have won.” (far different than the now traditional bottle of milk).
However, some historians insists that Goux, while admittedly drinking some alcohol during the race, was not “three sheets to the wind” as some reported.
On four of their six stops, Goux and his riding mechanic, Emile Begin, were handed a chilled “half-bottle,” containing about four-fifths of one pint. While they may have consumed some of the content the first time, the later bottles probably served as little more than an expensive form of mouthwash, with the pair following up a small sip by swilling some around in the their mouths and then spitting it out.
Jules Goux dominated the Indy 500 with his Peugeot and its groundbreaking L-76 engine (it’s the same car Boillot used to win at Dieppe in 1912). Goux’s margine of victory, 13 minutes, 8.40 seconds, remains the largest in Indy 500 history. American “Specials” Mercer (Spencer Wishart driving) and Stutz (Charles Merz) were second and third. Ultimately, Jules averages approximately 10 miles per gallon of fuel, and an unknown quantity of champagne per stop.
1914 – USA
Ford Motor Co. raises the daily pay of its assembly line production workers to an auto industry record of $5 per day.
1914 – 5/30/1914 – Indianapolis 500
France takes its second consecutive Indy 500 victory, this time with Rene Thomas driving a Delage to victory at an average speed over the race distance of 84.474 mph. Driver Billie Carson’s Maxwell chassis proceeds to run the race to an eventual ninth-place finish on a mere 30 gallons of gas. With the 1914 price at $0.06 a gallon, Carlson’s total $1.80 fuel bill may be the most economical 500 mile performance in motor racing history.
1914 – France
Europe was fully embroiled in the early years of WW I with the German Army’s advance on Paris imminent. The initial assault was repulsed when an opportunistic French officer commandeered a fleet of Renault taxis and used them to quickly move troops to the front line. Military strategists worldwide take note.
1915 – USA
Movie star Anita King sets a record by driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 17 hours and 55 minutes.
1915 – 5/31/1915 – Indianapolis 500
At the now annual Indy 500, Ralph DePalma’s Mercedes again begins to slow with connecting rod problems late in the race. This time though he makes it to the finish to win. Ralph DePalma’s winning time of 5:33:55.51 was the first time quicker than six hours.
1916 – Indianapolis 500
The fewest starters for the Indy 500 came in 1916 when 21 cars took the green flag.
Dario Resta won the Indianapolis 500. But innovation was happening throughout the grid. Drivers Eddie Rickenbacker and Peter Henderson became the first to wear helmets (steel) in the race and Barney Oldfield finished fifth but became the first person in Indianapolis history to run a 100-mile-per-hour lap.
1916 – Pikes Peak International
In 1916 the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as “The Race to the Clouds”, which becomes an annual automobile and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA was run for the first time. The first Penrose Trophy (named after the event’s promoter Spencer Penrose) was awarded in 1916 to Rea Lentz driving a Romano Special with a time of 20:55.60. The track is daunting, measuring 12.42 miles (19.99 km) on dirt roads, over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m), on grades averaging 7%. The course was finally paved in 2012.
The race continues to be on the FIA International Events Calendar and over the years such auto racing luminaries as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Sébastien Loeb and Rod and Rhys Millen have won the event. Having taken place since 1916, it is the second oldest motorsport event in the United States.
1919 – Indianapolis 500
At the Qualifying sessions for the Indy 500, Rene Thomas becomes the first driver to qualify over 100 mph at the IMS. He won the pole position with a speed of 104.78 mph.
The traditional “Back Home Again in Indiana” song was first played at the Indy 500 in 1919.
1919 – Italy
Enzo Ferrari finishes ninth at the Targa Florio bringing the young race car driver to the notice of race car manufacturer, Alfa Romeo.
1920 – USA
The auto industry in the U.S. is hit hard by a strong post-war sales slump. Most companies struggle, many go out of business and some are absorbed into the larger corporate conglomerates.
1920 – France
By this time over 350 French companies manufacture motor vehicles.
1920 – Indianapolis 500
In 1920, the four-lap qualification format was introduced at Indy. Driver Art Klein was the first to post a “time trial speed” under this format.
1920 – 5/31/1920 – Indianapolis 500
Louis Chevrolet’s Monroe racer wins the Indianapolis 500 with his brother Gaston at the wheel. Lap prize money was awarded to the leaders of the race for the first time, as race organizers offered a $100 payout for every lap led. The monetary incentive bred furious competition throughout the 500 miles, as there was suddenly a compelling reason to risk a delicate car’s well-being in the early stages of the race. A driver who led every lap could double the winner’s purse of $20,000.
1920 – USA
Seven months after winning the Indy 500, Gaston Chevrolet is killed in a racing accident on a boardwalk raceway in Beverly Hills, California. Gaston was killed when his Frontenac crashed on lap 146 of the 200 lap race. Despite the accident and his subsequent death, Gaston had accumulated enough points during the race and through the season to posthumously win the 1920 title of AAA “Speed King of the Year” , The National Champion. Gaston Chevrolet becomes the first winner of the ‘500’ to die.
1920 – Italy
Driving a race modified Alfa Romeo production car in the Targa Florio, Enzo Ferrari finished in second place.
1921 – 5/30/1921 – Indianapolis
Tommy Milton drives a straight-eight Frontenac, designed and built by Louis Chevrolet, to victory at the Indy 500. Two different Louis Chevrolet-developed race cars won at Indianapolis in consecutive years. Ralph DePalma started from the pole position for the second consecutive year, the first time a driver had ever done so. Ralph DePalma leads 109 laps but once again his connecting rod breaks and he rolls to a stop. DePalma never leads another Indianapolis 500, retiring after the 1922 race. His final career total is 612 laps led for 1 win. DePalma’s record number of circuits in front is finally topped by Al Unser 67 years later. In 1921 the Indianapolis 500 sees the first use of four-wheel hydraulic brakes.
1921 – Daytona Beach
American Sig Haugdahl became the first to break the “three-miles-a-minute” barrier, reaching 180.27 mph at Daytona Beach in his Wisconsin Spl.
1921 – Britain
Bentley Motors Ltd start production of the new Bentley 3 litre sports car at a factory in Cricklewood, London and the three racing Bentleys entered in the Tourist Trophy Race win the team prize.
1922 – 5/30/1922 – Indianapolis 500
Jimmy Murphy becomes the first driver to win the race starting from the pole position.
Jimmy Murphy won the Indy 500 and the AAA championship in the Duesenberg he used to win the French GP (he bought the car and installed a new Miller 183 ci, double overhead camshaft, engine). He called the car a Murphy Special.
1922 – USA
Ford, by this year, has produced over one million Model Ts.
1923 – Germany
In Germany, Benz designed and produced the first mid-engine (rear-engine) GP car in which the driver sat in front of the engine. The race car also had independent suspension on all four wheels. The car finished fourth in its only Grand Prix at Monza in Italy.
1923 – Italy
While racing at the Circuit of Sivocci at Ravenna, Italy Enzo Ferrari is approached by Count Enrico and Countess Paolina Baracca, parents of a deceased national hero, Francesco Baracca. They give Enzo their son Francesco’s squadron badge, a prancing horse on a yellow shield. Enzo would make the Ferrari logo one of the most recognized symbols in the world.
1924 – 5/30/1924 – Indianapolis 500
For the first time in history there were no foreign cars in the Indy 500. Millers and Duesenbergs ruled. Joe Boyer, in a supercharged Dusenberg, stormed into the early lead but the drive on his supercharger sheared. When teammate L.L. Corum pitted, Fred Duesenberg replaced him with Boyer, telling him: “Put that ship in front or burn it up”. Boyer worked toward the front, eventually passing Earl Cooper and Jimmy Murphy for the win. Duesenberg became Indy’s first winner to use a supercharger.Technically, Corum wins “The 500” without leading a single lap in his racing career at Indianapolis, the first driver to do so. 1924 also sees the first use at the Indianapolis 500 of front-wheel drive.
1924 – The Spanish Grand Prix
England’s own Sunbeam won the Spanish Grand Prix. No other British car won a Grand Prix in the first half of the 20th century. The Sunbeam’s reputation soars.
1924 – Land Speed Record
Sir Malcolm Campbell achieves an official Land Speed Record of 146mph in an 18 liter 12 cylinder purpose-built Sunbeam developing 350hp.
1924 – LeMans, France
A Bentley Sport, driven by Sammy Davis and John Benjafield, won the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race in France for the first time.
1924 – 9/2/1924 – USA
Indy 500 winner Joe Boyer, a millionaire playboy, was killed in a crash at the Altoona wood board race track.
1925 – 5/30/1925 – Indianapolis 500
The Indy 500 is won by Ralph DePalma’s nephew, and former riding mechanic, Peter DePaolo. Peter DePaolo’s winning time of 4:56:39.46 was the first time quicker than five hours. DePaolo was the first to average over 100 mph (160 km/h) on his way to victory. He averages 101.13 mph. It was also the first time substantial radio broadcasts took place at the track – WFBM of Indianapolis and WGN from Chicago.
1925 – Land Speed Record
Sir Malcolm Campbell establishes a new official Land Speed Record of 150mph, again in a Sunbeam purpose-built record car.
1925 – LeMans, France
Again Sunbeam has great success at the Grand Prix d’Endurance (24 hours) at Le Mans after entering their new 3 liter Super Sports car. It is the only British car to finish, taking 2nd place overall and coming in first in the 3 liter class.
1925 – USA
Charles H. Myers wins the Pikes Peak Hillclimb driving a Chandler Special. He is the first to break 18 minutes with a time of 17:48.400.
1927 – Indianapolis 500
At qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, all 33 starters qualified over 100 mph for the first time.
Twenty nine Millers and five Duesenbergs made up the Indy 500 field. Frank Lockhart dominated in a 91.5 ci Miller but dropped out due to mechanical problems. Rookie George Souders won in a Duesenberg he had purchased for $1500 (DePaolo had won with it in 1925)
George Souders’ winning, two year-old, Duesenberg was powered by a 90.29 ci engine which was (and still is) the smallest to win the 500.
Duesenberg, debued designs utilizing a concept that would later become the basis for the classic Indy roadster design.
1927 – 03/29/1927 – Land Speed Record – Daytona
Briton Henry Segrave sets the first land speed record over 200 mph with a run of 203.792MPH on the sands of Daytona Beach, Florida. His vehicle is a specially built Sunbeam with over 1,000HP.
1927 – The Mille Miglia, Italy
Starting and finishing at Brescia, Italy, the Mille Miglia was probably the last of the great European road races. Started in 1927 by Italian car lover Count Aymo Maggi, the Mille Miglia covered a thousand rugged miles of narrow, rural public roads meandering thru the often mountainous Italian countryside, The legendary race showcased some of the finest Italian granturismo marques, like Maserati, Isotta, Fiat, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo and some of the great race drivers of the time.
In the aftermath of the 1957 race, in which a fatal crash that killed Ferrari driver, Spaniard, Alfonso de Portago, his navigator, Edmund Nelson and nine spectators, (including five children), the race was discontinued.
1927 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Eddie Rickenbacker purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Carl Fisher and Jim Allison for $700,000.
1927
Major Henry Segrave, sets a new World Land Speed Record of over 200mph driving a twin-engined 1000 hp purpose-built Sunbeam.
1928 – 5/30/1928 – Indianapolis 500
During the Indy 500, Jimmy Gleason has a good lead when he stops for water for the radiator on lap 195. A crew member misses the radiator and douses the car’s magneto. Gleason is out of the race and Louis Meyer wins.
1928 – France
A Bentley wins the Le Mans 24 Hours driven by Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin.
1928 – Europe / Italy
Elisabetta Junek, from Czechoslovakia in Eastern Europe, becomes the first woman to lead the prestigious Targa Florio when she took the lead on the second lap. Later, she claimed that rocks thrown by a spectators caused her to loose the race.
1929 – 5/30/1929 – Indianapolis 500
At the Indy 500, Louis Meyer stalls on his final pitstop, handing the race to Ray Keech, who is killed in a racing crash just two weeks after the ‘500’.
Cliff Woodbury became the first pole-position winner to finish the race in last place.
Taking note of the Grand Prize (Grand Prix) of France, the AAA announced that, going forward, the Indy 500 would be known as the Grand Prize of America (the idea didn’t stick).
1929 – LeMans, France
Bentley won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second year in succession with a Speed Six driven by Woolf Barnato and Henry Birkin.
1929 – Italy
While continuing to work for Alfa Romeo, Enzo Ferrari formed the Scuderia Ferrari, a club/team for gentlemen-racers with the purpose of organizing racing for members.
