One of my favorite things about the pre-race festivities at the Indianapolis 500 is seeing the Marmon Wasp, which won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, on the track leading the group of historic racers. This is a short story of how the Marmon Wasp came to be.
The Marmon Wasp was developed by Nordyke & Marmon, a well-established manufacturer of flour milling equipment which was sold in North and South America. Nordyke & Marmon traces its roots back to 1851 in Richmond, Indiana when Ellis Nordyke began making milling machinery. In 1866, Daniel W. Marmon joined the firm and it moved to Indianapolis in 1875 looking for better manufacturing facilities. They manufactured a wide range of equipment ranging from roller mills, blending machinery, and rice, corn and starch mill machinery.
In 1902, brothers Walter and Howard Marmon, were dissatisfied with the quality of automobiles and built one in a corner of the Nordyke & Marmon factory. They sold their first automobile in 1905. The car’s tag line was “A Mechanical Masterpiece.” It featured a double three-point suspension system which prevented dust from entering the suspension system. It reportedly was the only car which had a solid cast aluminum body, providing a durable but lightweight strength to the car. It also distinguished itself because, unlike most manufacturers of that period which assembled component parts, the company built the majority of the components. In 1905, the company sold 25 Marmon “Model B” which featured a 90-inch wheelbase and weighed 2000 pounds for $2,500 each.
The next year, Marmon introduced an eight-cylinder engine with 70 horsepower. In 1907, Marmon displayed three cars at the New York Auto Show including a seven-passenger, eight-cylinder touring car with sixty horsepower. The car was built on a 128-inch wheelbase. They also displayed a Model F five passenger touring car built on a 104-inch wheelbase and a Model C four passenger touring car built on a 96-inch wheelbase.
In an era when proving a car’s durability would result in an increase in sales, Marmon entered two of its Model 32 stock cars in racing piloted by Ray Harroun and Harry Stillman in 1909. Although there were cars with more powerful engines, Marmon hoped that its steady performance would lead to victory in the Vanderbilt Cup and the Wheatley Hills Trophy Race. Harry Stillman finished ninth in the Vanderbilt Cup race after suffering a cracked cylinder on lap seven of twenty-two laps. On the same course, Ray Harroun won the Wheatley Hills Trophy Race. The trophy, valued at $1,500, was displayed at the Marmon saleroom.
In November 1909, the Marmon racing team participated in the opening races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Marmon, piloted by Harry Stillman, was in second place in the 200-mile race when he crashed. In the 10-mile free-for-all, Stillman finished first and Harroun second. The next day, Harroun won the 120-mile race beating his nearest competitor by six laps. He won the race without a riding mechanic in the same Marmon 32 in which he had won the 1909 Wheatley Hills Trophy Race. Marmon also displayed this trophy at its showroom located at Meridian and New York Streets. On the final day of racing, Harroun narrowly edged out his competitors to win a 10-mile race while Stillman finished third in a fifty mile race.
For the 1910 racing season, Howard Marmon designed a special racer which was expected “to do great things in the realms of speed.” Nicknamed the “yellow hornet” because of its racing colors, the yellow and black six-cylinder racing car had special features which had never been seen before. To reduce air resistance, the driver sat in the center of the car with only has goggles showing above the hood of the car and the car’s front and the back were pointed. It was designed to carry enough fuel and water for a 200-mile race without stopping. During testing on March 16, Howard Marmon piloted the car on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track at 90 mph.
The 1910 racing season opened at the newly constructed Los Angeles board track. There, Harroun won the 100-mile race and established a new speed record.
The next day, Harroun set another speed record for five miles. The third day of racing was a disappointment to the Marmon team as Harroun finished third in the 50-mile feature race and second in a five-mile free-for-all race. The next day, Harroun won the 50-mile feature race. On the fifth and final day of racing, Marmon continued its winning streak with Harroun winning a two-hour free for all. He traveled 148 miles and benefitted from not having to stop for fuel or water. Later that day in a five-mile race, Harroun finished second.
After a brief trip back to Indianapolis, the Marmon team went to Atlanta for a series of races. Harroun won the 200-mile featured race piloting the “yellow jacket” and a ten-mile free-for-all race. On the second day of racing at Atlanta, Harroun won the 12-mile free-for-all race and finished second in the 10-mile free-for-all race. In the fifty-mile free-for-all race, Harroun dropped out on the 28th lap due to tire trouble. His teammate, Joe Dawson, finished third in the race.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted three days of racing in May 1910. The highlight for the Marmon team was Harroun winning the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race, a 200-mile event before an estimated 25,000 spectators. Harroun took the lead at the 15-mile mark and never relinquished it while establishing new records for 150 and 200 miles. Harroun utilized a strategy of keeping his speed steady which saved his engine and tires from excessive wear. His average speed for the race was 72.12 mph.
The 100-mile Prest-O-Lite Trophy race was a disappointment for the Marmon team. It looked like Joe Dawson was going to win after setting new speed records for 40, 50, 60, 70 and 85 miles before a spark plug failure forced him to pit. Harroun led early in the race but a valve failure ended his attempt. Harroun won the feature 50-mile Remy Grand Brassard race on the third day of racing.
The winning continued for the Marmon team with Harroun taking first place the Wilkes-Barre hill climb and a 10-mile free-for-all and a 10-mile match race against J. M. McLane at St. Paul, Minnesota. The Marmon team then returned to Indianapolis and participated in the July 4 weekend races at the Speedway. Joe Dawson won the 200-mile Cobe Trophy despite his tires wearing thin. He had signaled a need to pit at 190 miles, but this was denied for fear that he would lose the race.
Marmon won four of the eight races at the Grand Circuit races in Louisville. At the Latonia racetrack, Marmon dominated the field winning five of nine races. Late in the season, novice driver Dave Buck won the inaugural 169.5-mile Kane County Trophy Race. The racing at IMS over Labor Day weekend was a disappointment for Harroun who was leading the 200-mile Wheeler-Schebler race until the coupling broke on his racer. He finished second in the fifty-mile free-for-all event. Joe Dawson finished second at the 278-mile Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island. Joe Dawson won three events including the 200-mile City of Atlanta Trophy race at the Atlanta Speedway in September. The 1910 racing season concluded with Joe Dawson winning the 276.8-mile Savannah Challenge Cup race. The Marmon team was pleased with the results from the 1910 season.
In November, Harroun quit the racing game and returned to his hometown of Chicago to build airplane engines and airplanes. In December, management of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced a 500-mile International Sweepstakes with a prize of $25,000 in gold coins. In March 1911, Harroun reaffirmed his decision to quit auto racing. He had entered his monoplane in a race from San Francisco to New York. In April, Harroun changed his mind because of the large purse offered for the 500-mile race. He told the Indianapolis Star, “When the race starts, I will roll my Wasp with which I have won many races up to the tape and I am going to go the 500 miles without a stop. I will go the long route and I am out to win.”
While Harroun did not go the 500 miles in the initial Indianapolis 500 without a stop, he was proclaimed the winner.