In the beginning of international auto racing, there was the Gordon Bennett Cup. Established by American ex-pat James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the New York Herald, in 1900 it revealed in stark terms how uncompetitive American automobiles were. The races were between national automobile clubs or nations and ...
Barney Oldfield
Book Review: The Master Driver of the World, the 1914 Cactus Derby by Mark Dill
January 6, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
The Cactus Derby, officially known as the Los Angeles to Phoenix Endurance Run, began in November 1908. The 1914 race was 728 miles spanning three days with stops in Needles, California, and Prescott, Arizona. This was a test of the mettle of the participants—both men and the cars.
Mark Dill ...
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Book Review: The Marvelous Mechanical Designs of Harry A. Miller by Gordon Eliot White
January 5, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
Die hard Indianapolis 500 fans will recognize the name of Harry Miller. Sad to say but when he died in 1943, his creativity and mechanical genius in creating an engine that dominated championship racing for more than fifty years had been forgotten. The Miller engine over the years became known ...
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The Golden Submarine
January 5, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
Barney Oldfield was one of the preeminent race car drivers of the early era in auto racing. He set many speed records ranging from one mile to 100 miles including a 100 mph record for one lap (2.5 miles) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was so renown that through ...
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Book Review–Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America’s Legendary Speed King by William F. Nolan
January 4, 2024 by uvsw14Leave a comment
In the 1920s and 1930s, speeding motorists would be asked by the patrolman, “Who do you think you are, Barney Oldfield?” The question referenced Barney who was widely known as the Speed King.
Like many of the successful racers of that period, Berna Eli Oldfield, was quickly drawn to the ...
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