Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: Louis Chevrolet’s Wreck on the Course
A tough one! Did you identify Louis Chevrolet and his wreck?
Identify;
- The driver
- The car
110/120hp FIAT
- Approximate date
October 2, 1905
- Where did the accident occur?
Near Willie K's Deepdale estate
- What caused this wreck?
High speed and fog caused Chevrolet to hit a telephone pole during a practice run days before the October 14th Vanderbilt Cup race
Hint: This driver wrecked two different cars that year. Kudos; describe them both.
Aside from the destroyed 110/120hp FIAT during the practice run, Chevrolet crashed the 90hp backup #16 FIAT into another pole in the Cup Race.
Comments (2)
Congrats to Bob Barauskas and Steve Lucas for identifying Chevrolet. Kudos to Steve for identifying both FIATs.
Greg O.
Practice run FIAT wreck- October 2, 1905
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NY Tribune Tuesday October 3, 1905
90hp #16 FIAT wreck-Vanderbilt Cup October 14, 1905
Comments
The driver was Louis Chevrolet
The first automobile in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race was a Fiat
The second automobile in the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race was a Buick
Vanderbilt Cup Race on October 2, 1905. During early morning practice, he got into a patch of fog and ran into a telephone pole with the 110 hp Fiat.
Vanderbilt Cup race of October 1, 1910, Chevrolet drove a Marquette - Buick. One of the Buick’s wheels became wedged in a rut and snapped the steering mechanism. The car slammed into a parked street car in Hicksville, crashed through a fence, hit a touring car and a tree before landing upside down in front of a farm house.
That’s Louis Chevrolet sitting in the wreckage of his 110 HP (some accounts have it at 120 HP) FIAT after having collided with a telephone pole in Lakeville near Willie K.‘s Deepdale estate during a practice run on or about October 2, 1905. Several factors combined to cause the crash: high speed (about 70 mph); slippery road surface; and early morning fog. Twelve days later on October 14th., during the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race, Chevrolet hit another telephone pole driving a 90 HP back-up FIAT near the “S” curve on Willis Avenue in Albertson.