Indy: Racing Before the 500 The Untold Story of the Brickyard

by D. Bruce Scott

Before the 500, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started with gas bags, motorcycles, auto races and aeroplanes! Experience the thrills and drama of the untold story of The Brickyard with the best-selling book on the history-making events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during 1909-1910. The Speedway was the site of many historical events before the first Indianapolis 500 was even a thought! Yet nowhere has this history ever been fully documented in one place until now. Racing Before The 500 takes you right to the action with thorough research, never before published photographs and quotes from participants that cover all of the events like you've never experienced before! Relive the circumstances that led Carl Fisher and his partners to build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ride along with the drivers as the auto races are covered in four exciting chapters. Discover the harsh conditions endured by the race car drivers during the December 1909 brick testing sessions and learn about the little-known motorcycle races on August 14, 1909. Aviation enthusiasts can marvel at the exploits of the Wright brothers' pilots during the 1910 aviation meet and drift along with the hot air balloon pilots during the two National Championship balloon races. Everything is covered in great detail and arranged in chronological order! Several special sections have been included which a closer look at the 37 rare stereoscopic photos featured in the book, a brief summary of selected participants from 1909-1910 describing their future activities and accomplishments, and page after page of auto racing statistics and records from 1909-1910. Throughout the book you'll find accurate results from nearly every 1909-1910 auto race held at the Speedway, 82 in all! Results driver name, car #, car manufacturer, final placing, laps completed and laps led. Each race is supported in full detail with lap-by-lap accounts!

270 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mark Dill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned more about the earliest days and races of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from this book than any other resource. The research is almost entirely from local area newspapers and lays out the dozens of motor races that took place in 1909 and 1910 - leading up to, but not including, the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. It lays out the finishing order of all of those races and delivers chapters of detailed narrative about the events. I have read it cover-to-cover and find that even with the ready availability of Internet resources through Google, I still find myself pulling this one off the shelf when I am seeking quick and trustworthy answers. Very readable reference.

[Indydave1958 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice companion to some of the exhibits in the newly renovated Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The book is nicely organized, and you can leaf right to a narrative of any of the dozens of races held at the Speedway in the two years before the first Indy 500 in 1911. Packed with fun trivia and richly detailed, the book is a fascinating examination of the earliest days of a worldwide institution in motor sports.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a race fan, or just a history buff, this is an incredible book littered with facts, pictures, news, quotes and results from the inception of an idea that became the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 2 years of operation (widely forgotten about) before the first ever Indianapolis 500.

One might think it is only for motorsports fans but it goes far beyond that with visits and records set by the Wright Brothers, and great stories from the two National Balloon races alone are worth it.

I am in awe of how much information, quotes and analysis was able to be collected some 100 years later.