A postcard that was published by the Rapid Photo Printing Co. Ltd. of London E.C. The artwork by Theo Penny is of unusually poor quality for comic cards of the day.
The card was posted in Broxburn, Scotland using a ½d. stamp on Saturday the 7th. August 1909 to:
Mrs. A. Metcalfe, 4, Coronation Road, Oatlands, Harrogate, England.
The message on the divided back, which was written in a childish hand, was as follows:
"Dear Auntie Annie, Hope this card will soowt you. Look at your old faces. Show mother it. Have received things. Give Elsie and Edith xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Not a lot, but 5 days later, on the 12th. August 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was officially opened. The first motorsports event at the track consisted of 7 motorcycle races, sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), on the 14th. August 1909.
The first weekend of automobile races took place on the 19th. to 21st. August 1909. It comprised 16 races sanctioned by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The event almost turned into a disaster because of the surface of crushed stone and tar. There were several accidents and five fatalities. The final race of the weekend was halted after 235 miles (378 km) of its originally-scheduled 300 miles.
IMS is in Speedway, Indiana (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 race, and formerly the home of the Brickyard 400 race.
It is the first racing facility to use the word Speedway. IMS has permanent seating for more than 257,000 people. The infield raises capacity to approximately 400,000. It is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in the world.
The Speedway is considered relatively flat by American standards, but high-banked by Europeans. It is a two and a half mile, nearly rectangular oval. Each of the four turns are 1/4 mile. Two 5/8 mile long straights connect turns 2 to 3 and turns 4 to 1. Two 1/8 mile short straights, termed short chutes, connect turns 1 to 2 and turns 3 to 4.
A modern infield road course was constructed between 1998 and 2000. It used part of the oval and the infield to create a 2.605-mile (4.192 km) track. In 2008, the road course was changed to add another infield section. This is used for motorcycle racing, and is a 2.621-mile (4.218 km) course.
On the grounds of the Speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which opened in 1956. It is also the home of the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which originally opened as the Speedway Golf Course in 1929.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
In addition to the Indianapolis 500, the Speedway also hosted NASCAR's Brickyard 400 from 1994 to 2020. The Speedway also hosted the United States Grand Prix for Formula One from 2000 to 2007. In 2008, the Speedway added the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix.
After winning his fifth United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2006, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories with the Formula One version of the road course.
Tire Problems
In 2005, there was a big problem with some of the Formula One tires. During practice, there was a big crash at turn 13. This is also the only banked corner on the F1 calendar. Michelin realized that their tires could not handle the banking, and would fail after a few laps. The cars using Bridgestone tires did not have the problem.
The Michelin teams could not solve the problem. Michelin wanted to add a chicane before the turn, but the FIA would not allow the track to be modified.
Everyone involved tried to fix the problem right up to race. Michelin told their teams the tires were not safe to race with. Accordingly the Michelin teams lined up on the starting grid and drove around the track for the slow parade lap.
At the end of the lap, they pulled into the pits and parked their cars. This left only the three Bridgestone teams (six race cars) to run the race. The two Ferrari cars were the only cars on the lead lap at the end of the race.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Statistics
Capacity: 257,000 (permanent seats) – 400,000 grand total Owner: Roger Penske Address:4790 West 16th. Street Broke Ground: 15th. March 1909 Opened: 12th. August 1909 Construction Cost:$3 million ($73 million 2016 dollars) Architects: Carl G. Fisher, James A. Allison, F. H. Wheeler, and Arthur Newby Major Events: -- NTT IndyCar Series -- Indianapolis 500-Mile Race -- Grand Prix of Indianapolis -- NASCAR Cup Series -- Verizon 200 at the Brickyard -- NASCAR Xfinity Series -- Pennzoil 150 Track: -- Rectangular oval -- Surface Asphalt and Brick -- Circuit Length 2.5 mi (4.023 km) -- Turns 4 -- Banking Turns 9.2° Lap Record 37.895 seconds (237.498 mph/382.216 km/h)
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