Mystery Friday Foto #41 Solved: Louis Chevrolet at Indy
Can you identify this Vanderbilt Cup Race driver and race?
Identify;
- The Driver
Louis Chevrolet
- The Race- Hint; it is NOT the Vanderbilt Cup races
Indianapolis 500 in May, 1916
- The Race Car
The #8 Frontenac race car
- What was the outcome for this driver in this race?
Unfortunately for Chevrolet, his Frontenac had a connecting rod failure in the 82nd lap.
- Kudos; This driver was related to another driver in the race-Who was the other driver?
Alongside Louis Chevrolet in the 1916 Indy, was his brother and teammate, Arthur Chevrolet. Arthur did not fare any better than his brother with his Frontenac having magneto problems on lap 35. The 1916 Indy 500 was the only Indy race the two brothers raced in together. A third Chevrolet brother was also in attendance at the 1916 Indy, with that brother being Gaston Chevrolet. However, Gaston failed to qualify.
Comments (8)
Congrats to Mark DeSantis, Steve Lucas, Art Kleiner (and his supporting documents), Bob Barauskas, Richard Salamon, Hugh Nutting, and Kenneth Parrotte for identifying Louis Chevrolet.
Greg O.
May 1916 - Indianapolis, Indiana
#8 Frontenac
Driver - Louis Chevrolet
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
May 1916 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Rare Photo of Gaston, Arthur, and Louis Chevrolet
Comments
Driver Louis Chevrolet, driving the Number 8 car he built called the Frontenac that was built to race the Indy 500. His brother Gaston won the 1920 Indy with this car.
There were 2 versions of the Frontenac engine Single over head cam conversion for the Ford 4 cylinder and a dual overhead cam.
That’s Louis Chevrolet driving the #8 Frontenac at the 1916 Indy 500 which actually was only a 300 mile race. The car was built by the Chevrolet brothers: Louis; Gaston; and Arthur. Louis was credited with 12th place but only completed 82 laps of the scheduled 120. His brother, Arthur, driving another Frontenac, was credited with 18th place but only completed 35 laps.
Louis Chevrolet
1916 Indy 500
Frontenac
Finished 12th in the race
Brother Arthur Chevrolet
FYI - the Frontenac team cars carried the logo of the Wolverine Automobile Club of Detroit.
Louis Chevrolet was the driver on the photo.
The race was the 7th Liberty 500 mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
His car was a Frontenac.
He finished the race coming in 7th place. His brother also driving a Frontenac in the same race came in 10th
Greg,
The driver may be Louis Chevrolet and I suspect he crashed while racing the car.
Looks like Louis Chevrolet in a Durant Team car. Indy 500. Is this the race his brother was killed in?
Louis Chevrolet.
5/30/1916 Indianapolis 500.
Frontenac (chassis and engine).
Raced to 2nd and then had mechanical ills and went out of the race with a broken connecting rod.
Riding mechanic was George Tucker.
Joe Boyer relieved Louis during the race.
Arthur Chevrolet started 11th in a Frontenac and was out after 35 laps with magneto trouble.
Gaston was also entered in a Frontenac (number 8) but was too slow. Joe Boyer took over the #8 in practice and Louis drove the #8 in the race.
Louis was entered in the race in Frontenac #6 but broke a crank shaft in practice.
... what’s that logo on the passenger side?
The Frontenac team had teething problems in 1916 with the brand new cars, but won a number of races from 1917-1919. Sadly the 500 was cancelled in ‘17 & “18.