Today marks the birthday of two men whose names will be forever intertwined with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its lasting legacy.
Born Jan. 12, 1874 in Greensburg, Ind., Carl Fisher was 35 years old when he joined with James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler in 1909 to build the speedway as a way for Indianapolis' burgeoning automobile industry to test its products and occasionally conduct manufacturer competitions in races.
Two years later, the first Indianapolis 500 Mile Race was contested on the 2.5-mile oval track and won by Ray Harroun, who was born Jan. 12, 1879, in Spartansburg, Pa. More than a century later, Harroun is still revered and the Indianapolis 500 is approaching its milestone 100th running this May.
Fisher drove the Stoddard-Dayton pace car for that first Indy 500 (photo at right) because he sold the passenger vehicles. He was an idealistic businessman who, in addition to being a founding father of the Brickyard, had the foresight to develop Miami Beach out of Florida swampland. He also raised money to develop Montauk, N.Y., on Long Island as the “Miami Beach of the North.” The stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Depression forced real estate values to plummet and Fisher lost his estimated $50 million fortune. He died in 1939.
Harroun was known as the “Little Professor” for his engineering work on the Marmon Wasp that won the first Indy 500 in 1911. Legend has it that Harroun knew going into the race that he could not push too hard during the race for fear of damaging the car or, as importantly, suffering a tire failure. So he reportedly met with Firestone engineers on the eve of the race and asked how fast he could safely drive without jeopardizing the tires. He was told 75 mph so he stuck with it, even though others ran faster at times.
Harroun's winning average speed on May 30, 1911, was 74.602 mph.
He also drove in record-setting distance drives from Chicago to New York in 1903 and ’04, and won three other early Indy car races in 1910, including a pair of 100-milers at IMS the year prior to the initial “500.”
Though not all count as official Indy car races, Harroun won eight times in all at IMS and in other cities such as New Orleans, Los Angeles, Long Island, Memphis and even at famous Churchill Downs in Louisville. He came out of retirement to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1911 at age 32, driving the No. 32 Marmon Wasp, retired again after the season and went to work for Marmon. Harroun died in 1968.