Ragtime Racers

05/19/2026

To finish first, first you need to finish.

1912 Indy 500 winner Joe Dawson is beside his National Motor Vehicle Company racer as Ralph DePalma pushes his Mercedes down the front stretch. DePalma led 196 of the 200 laps; his engine blew. Helping push was riding mechanic Rupert Jeffkins.

Earlier, as Dawson increased speed in the latter part of the race to try and catch the Mercedes, his crew signaled him to slow down. In disbelief he complied, only to find out later that his team could hear the Mercedes engine failing and gambled that it wouldn’t finish the race.

05/15/2026

On May 27, 1911, Harold Van Gorder wrecked his Lozier during practice at the Brickyard. Riding mechanic, Walter Bardell, was seriously injured. Ralph Mulford, in another Lozier, was second in the first Indy 500 on May
30.

This is my wife's favorite excerpt from my book, "The Legend of the First Super Speedway." Autographed copies available at the link.

05/14/2026

The formidable CASE team is ready for the 1911 Indianapolis 500. Left to right - Joe Jagersburger, Lewis Strang, and Will Jones. Hot-shoe Lewis Strang, still stinging from his heartbreaking divorce from stage actress Louise Alexander, had been approached by the Case Company in 1910 to prepare a race team for the 1911 season. As team leader, he hired fellow drivers Joe Jagersburger and Will Jones and became the first entrant in the first Indianapolis 500. Strang started from the pole.

05/09/2026

Front page from the Sunday edition of the Indianapolis Star that touted the upcoming first automobile races at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway, August 15, 1909. Find a PDF of this image on First Super Speedway with dozens of links for more info.
https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/automobile-section

05/07/2026

Joe Matson competed in the 1912 Indianapolis 500 and the Vanderbilt Cup twice. His biggest success appears to have been his triumph in the Indiana Trophy race, held only once on June 18, 1909, as the support race to the June 19 Cobe Trophy.

https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/matson-indiana-trophy

04/28/2026

Louis Chevrolet in his Buick at the 1909 Ira Cobe Trophy. These races were organized by the Chicago Auto Club with the sanction of the American Automobile Association (AAA). The racecourse was in Indiana, between Crown Point and Lowell. Chevrolet won.

04/24/2026

Corona, California 1913.
The cars are Tony Jannette ( #3 National), Felix Magone ( #2 Stutz-Wisconsin), Barney Oldfield,( #1 Mercer). Earl Cooper won for Stutz. Oldfield, in the lead, was forced to swerve to avoid a boy on the course, resulting in an accident.
https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/carona-1913

04/19/2026

FIRST INDY RACE
This photograph is of the first automobile race meet at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The publication date was August 21, 1909, and the events were conducted the previous day. Two spectators were killed when a car crashed into them.

https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/stoddard-daytons-dominate-ims-1909

04/18/2026

Barney Oldfield signed with Lou Mooers of Peerless after falling out with Alexander Winton in 1904. Oldfield raced for the factory before purchasing the equipment and setting out on his own in 1906. He continued to race Peerless Green Dragons through 1907.

https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/barney-dragon-resting

04/13/2026

Ragtime Racers won a Best in Class award at the Heritage Invitational at the Ten Tenths Motor Club in Charlotte. Just a top notch Concours with IROC and Indy Car racing as a bonus

04/13/2026

Ralph De Palma, August 19, 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The day was the first day of the first IMS race meet. I believe the racer shown here is the Fiat Cyclone that DePalma drove in 1909 and 1910.

https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/photo-gallery/depalma-fiat-ims-1909

Mark Dill
"The Legend of the First Super Speedway"
"The Master Driver of the World"
markgdill.com
www.FirstSuperSpeedway.com