Mystery Foto #5 Solved: 1911 Stoddard Dayton at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
I found this weekend's Mystery Foto in my archives.
Mystery Foto questions:
- Identify this automobile and its first owner
This is the 1911 Stoddard Dayton that is the actual automobile or replica of the car owned by Carl G. Fisher, one of the four co-founders of the speedway and its first president.
- Why is this automobile historically signifcant? Hint (1/30/16): It achieved a historic first at a major race.
The 1911 Stoddard Dayton was the first pace car in a major race. Starting on the pole position at the beginning of the 1911 race, Fisher was the "pacemaker" leading the automobiles for one lap at 40 miles per hour before the race began.
- Where is it located today?
This automobile is on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Congrats and kudos to Randy Reed, Gary Hammond, and Andrea Fedi who correctly identified the 1911 Stoddard Dayton.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Carl Fisher in the 1905 Premier Racer which he hoped to compete in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race.
Carl Fisher flying a Stoddard Dayton over the Indy speedway in October 1908. Fisher owned a Stoddard Dayton dealership in Indianapolis.
Trying out the unfinished track in 1909.
1911 Indy 500 Race, May 30, 1911
Fisher in the driver's seat of the Stoddard Dayton in the pole position before beginning the 40-mile per hour parade lap.
My film of the 1911 Indy 500 Race. Fisher and the Stoddard Fisher can be seen at the 0:38 second mark.
The lap as reported in The Automobile, June 1, 1911
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Photographed by Howard Kroplick on May 25, 2011.
Additional Resources
Hemmings, June 2010: Pacing the Brickyard
Firstsuperspeedway.com Indianapolis Star, May 17, 1911 "Fisher is Pacemaker"
Hemmings, May 2005: The story behind the 1910 Stoddard Dayton
Comments
Omg,I’ve seen this car and know that it’s historical,got some searching and brain racking to do and hope I come up with something
This car is a 1911 Stoddard-Dayton that is representing the pace car for the 1911 Indy race in the Indy Hall of Fame Museum. There is some question as to whether this is the actual car. The original car was owned by Carl Fisher as he was the local Stoddard-Dayton dealer. It was the first time an automobile was used to pace and start a major auto race. In 1990 we had a celebration of the 1915 Point Loma Road Race in San Diego. We were fortunate in that there was a locally-owned Stoddard just like the one in the photo and the owner kindly brought it to our event and drove it as the pace car for the two laps of the course.
Don’t know, but it’s another gem!
This is the Stoddard Dayton which served as the Pace Car for the first Indy 500 Race in 1911, as well as the 1913 & 1914 races. It was driven by Carl G. Fisher, one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was manufactured by the Dayton Motor Car Co., of Dayton, Ohio, and named for John W. Stoddard & son Charles, principals in the company. The B&W photo shows the large brass intertwined initials CGF, along with the Stoddard Dayton name mounted on the front of the radiator. The auto is shown on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
This is Carl Fisher’s Stoddard Dayton. It was the pace car at the first Indianapolis 500 Race, and it can be seen in the Hall of Fame building, in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield.
1908 Thomas Flyer
From George Bartunek:
Mystery foto #5 is the 1908 Thomas Flyer that won the NY to Paris race. My humble opinion is that it should not have been restored.
Several years ago I had the opportunity of seeing the runner up in the race in Munich, the German Protos.
Only going to go with a Thomas Flyer circa 1908-1912.
Harrah’s?
The Stoddard Dayton photographed in this post is not a 1911. It’s either a 1909 or 1908 Stoddard Dayton. Starting in 1910 Stoddard Dayton went from elliptical rear springs to 3/4 elliptical springs also the rear fenders on the 09/ 08 Stoddard Dayton’s were flat (pancake) style. Starting in 1910 they were rounded over the rear tire. It would be interesting to see if the engine.
I attached 2 pics of my 1909 Stoddard Model F 45Hp and you can see the springs. Note the spring hangers are backwards on the white one. The red Stoddard is my 1910 50hp you can see the fenders are rounded.