Indianapolis had a vibrant automobile industry in the early 1900s including long forgotten companies such as National Motor Vehicle Company, Premier Motor Manufacturing Company, and Waverly Electric Company.
National Automobile & Electric was started by Arthur Newby, L. S. Dow and Philip Goetz from monies earned from the sale of Indianapolis Chain and Stamping Company to the American Bicycle Company in 1899. Indianapolis Chain was started in 1890 and provided chains to a variety of industries. One of their main product lines was for the bicycle and Indianapolis Chain sold 60% of the chains used.
By June 1900, National had begun operations with 40 men and boys manufacturing electric vehicles. The first vehicle, New York Trap, was designed for city travel of up to 50 miles on a single charge. The car, priced at $750, had 2 ½ horsepower and a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour. This automobile was very rudimentary with the engine being hung below the carriage. Like other early vehicles, it was very much a horseless carriage. National was one of four manufacturers to be represented at the first New York Automobile Show in 1900.
The company was reorganized in July 1901 by Arthur Newby and Charles Test as the National Motor Vehicle Company. National developed the first gasoline powered car in Indianapolis which was brought to market in 1902. In January 1904, the company introduced its second gasoline-powered tonneau model. Model A was a four-cylinder, 40-horsepower car with a top speed of 50 mph. It featured a shaft and beveled gears instead of chains. Model B was a four-cylinder, 20-horsepower car with a maximum speed of 40 mph. These models had the look of the automobiles produced during the Brass Era.
From the earliest days of the automobile, manufacturers including National used racing including hill climbs, endurance races and races run primarily on dirt horse racing tracks to prove the worthiness of their product. In November 1905, they participated in races at the Indiana State Fair Grounds sponsored by the Indianapolis Automobile Racing Association. Arthur Newby and his compatriots Frank Wheeler, Jim Allison and Carl Fisher watched a National piloted by Jap Clemens win a 100-mile race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. That got the four men to talking about a 24-hour endurance race. Two weeks later, the car set a new record for the most miles traveled over 24-hours of 1,094 miles which bested the old record set by Guy Vaughn by nearly 79 miles. Less than four years later, the four men founded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
National was the first to enter races on the opening weekend of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two cars were entered in the Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race of 250 miles which was for cars that weighed over 2,100 pounds and had a displacement between 301 and 450 cubic inches. Charlie Merz finished third and Tom Kincaid finished fourth in the nine-car field. Merz’s car finished all 100 laps. Kincaid’s car suffered a broken fuel feed on the 99th lap. National also entered two six-cylinder cars in the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race of 300 miles which had a weight limit of 2,400 pounds and a displacement between 451 and 600 cubic inches. Because of the deterioration of the track, the Wheeler-Schebler race was called after 94 laps (235 miles). The “Old Glory” National driven by Barney Oldfield completed 71 laps when the race was stopped and finished seventh. Charlie Merz in the other National wrecked on the 70th lap for a ninth-place finish.
The four owners of the Speedway were faced with a decision regarding its future and paved the track with 3.2 million bricks. The Speedway reopened on a bitterly cold day in December 1909 with both auto and motorcycle races. Johnny Aitken driving a National with a displacement between 300 and 450 cubic inches not only won the 20-mile race but he also set a new world’s record. Later that day, Aitken also set a new world’s record for cars with a displacement of 451 to 600 cubic inches.
National was again the first to submit entries for the 1910 opening races at the Speedway, entering three cars in the Memorial Day Prest-O-Lite and Wheeler-Schebler races. In leading up to the races at IMS, National participated in the races at the new Atlanta Speedway and walked away with $1,400 out of the $4,300 in prize money. Only six cars were entered in the Prest-O-Lite race which was won by Tom Kincaid in a National while Charlie Merz, also in a National, finished second. The Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race had a large field of 19 racers including four entered by National. Johnny Aitken was the top National finisher at third. Johnny Aitken finished third. National racers Ben Kerscher and Charlie Merz were flagged signaling the end of racing. At the time, Kerscher was sixth and Merz was ninth. Tom Kincaid completed only twenty laps before a cylinder on his National racer cracked. He was awarded 18th place.
After the 1910 racing season, the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway changed the format to a race of 500 miles. By offering $27,550 in prize money, the Speedway had 46 entries of which 40 qualified for the race with an average qualifying speed of 75 mph. Ray Harroun, who started from the 28th spot, won the inaugural Indianapolis 500. The National team had three cars in the race. Charlie Merz was the top National finisher in seventh place. Howdy Wilcox completed 194 laps when the race was called for 14th place while Johnny Aitken completed 125 laps before a connecting rod broke for 27th place. After winning the 1911 Indianapolis 500, Marmon withdrew from racing.
The second running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1912 had 29 entrants of which 24 qualified for the race. The race was dominated by Ralph DePalma who had a lead of two laps by the 250-mile mark and five laps by 400 miles. On lap 195, the connecting rod broke damaging the crankcase. With only three cylinders working, his car slowed. Joe Dawson, who was employed as an engineer by Marmon but was driving a National, slowly gained ground. By lap 198, he was three laps behind De Palma, whose car was only going 40 mph. With less than a mile remaining in the race, De Palma’s car stopped running and Dawson took the checkered flag. De Palma will forever be remembered for pushing his car across the finish line.
One of my favorite things about the pageantry of the Indianapolis 500 is seeing the Marmon which won the 1911 Indianapolis 500 and the National which won the 1912 Indianapolis 500 parade around the track. How I didn’t remember the National victory when I wrote last week’s post proclaiming that Jim Allison was the only owner of IMS to win a race as an owner is a mystery. Many thanks to fellow auto racing guru Mark Dill who brought it to my attention. Mark has a website, Firstsuperspeedway.com. He also publishes posts daily to Facebook. If you are interested, I’d be glad to pass along your contact information to him.