Ralph DePalma

Book Review: Thunder at Sunrise, A History of the Vanderbilt Cup, the Grand Prize and the Indianapolis 500, 1904-1916 by John M. Burns

March 18, 2024 by Leave a comment

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 ...

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The Winningest Driver in IMS History

January 9, 2024 by Leave a comment

The winningest driver at IMS isn’t one of the four-time Indianapolis 500 winners or Jeff Gordon, who won five Brickyard 400 races. Rather, it is Johnny Aitken who amassed fifteen victories on the fabled track. Known as “Happy Johnny,” he started racing in 1905 as a member of the National ...

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