Vanderbilt Cup Races

A perfect day! Warm but with a great breeze off the harbor. SO happy to be there for Art, and wish him well. It was just so nice for me to see everyone again after the past several years enduring recovery from heart surgery. Great to be among friends who are kindred spirits in the interest of the history of long island ! Thank you Howard and Roz for making this the best time I have had in years. Thanks to all who were there for being the gracious people who you all are.

From Update: Highlights from the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society meeting at Waterfront at Roslyn

Art, thanks for keeping the history of automobile and racing alive and well on LI.As a kid growing up and riding my bike on the motor parkway off NHP. You bring great memories. Enjoy North Carolina!

From Update: Highlights from the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society meeting at Waterfront at Roslyn

A kind tribute to Art, well deserving. Looks like you were in Newsday, Art. I’ll have to check this out. Hope you all had a great time!

From Update: Highlights from the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society meeting at Waterfront at Roslyn

An Epic Day. An ongoing inspiration.

From Update: Highlights from the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society meeting at Waterfront at Roslyn

Didn’t the LIMP promote itself with “no police”? Makes sense that they had some, but just wondering.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved: Tommy Zinzi policing the Motor Parkway in front of the Meadow Brook Lodge

Marty has been my friend for decades. When I got interested in drawing sprints and midgets, we instantly found a common bond in Bill Schindler. Marty was always ready to help me drawn from his amazing store of knowledge and artifacts.He is an amazing person. Prayers and well wishes for him to recover and be home soon.

From Update July 20 2021: A visit to see Marty Himes and the Himes Museum of Automobile Nostagia

Dear colleagues. I enclose a news item published in The India Rubber World magazine, published on November 1, 1913. As you can see, Barney Oldfield is portrayed in the image, at the wheel of his Christie. In any case, the text does not specify much, because as it says: “We reproduce herewith a recent photograph”. I hope this news provides some clue ... Greetings from Barcelona, capital of Catalonia.

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

Of course, the great Barney Oldfield with his Christie automobile … Where? I really do not know, as he made several race exhibitions in 1910s. Here are another view taken in the same photo-session… Sure many of the contributors will have the exact answer. Sincerely, Pau Medrano-Bigas

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

Wishing Mr. Himes a speedy recovery. A serious accident indeed resulting such bodily injury. I find the public roadways today with more operators disregarding safety for themselves and for fellow motorists. Get well soon!

From Update July 20 2021: A visit to see Marty Himes and the Himes Museum of Automobile Nostagia

Thanks Howard, we will. I never met the man but bet he’s a tough nut. Has been on my mind to visit his museum ever since a group of you did several years ago.

From Update July 20 2021: A visit to see Marty Himes and the Himes Museum of Automobile Nostagia

Frank, Exactly right, The lodges all had safes to hold the the monies collected until picked up. Prior to the Motorcycle force Kienzle himself would do the collecting. This way he could check out conditions of the ROW and other handle other issues.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved: Tommy Zinzi policing the Motor Parkway in front of the Meadow Brook Lodge

1909 Christie Front Drive

Barney Oldfield

Walter Christie beat Barney Oldfield and others with his new car at Gross Pointe, Michigan in August of 1909.
Oldfield bought the car and in 1915 in Tacoma he averaged 113.9 mph for a mile, and at Indianapolis in 1916 he set a new lap record of 102.6 mph.

No VCR connection to the car (let’s start the debate again).

Wayne Carroll Peterson is Barney Oldfield’s great, great nephew. 

Information obtained from vanderbiltcupraces.com, firstsuperspeedway.com and The Henry Ford Museum.

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

Amazing details as always Al, much appreciated! I figure the Monday morning collections was due to the heavier toll activity during the weekends.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved: Tommy Zinzi policing the Motor Parkway in front of the Meadow Brook Lodge

Oldfield in the Christie racer.

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

I recognize those wheels!

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

John Walter Christie’s last and fastest racing car.  Built in 1909. Arguably the fastest oval track race car in the USA from 1912-1916.  Faster even than the mighty Blitzen Benz and the European Grand Prix winning FIAT race cars, on circle tracks, anyway. When Barney Oldfield turned the first 100mph lap at Indy in 1916 in this Christie, even the state-of-the-art European race cars with twin overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder could not reach that speed. A period drawing of the car shown below.

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

Frank, All the lodge occupants knew Zinze well. Besides police duties, It was his job, especially on Monday mornings, to collect the toll fees from the various lodges and bring them to Kienzle. Your right about the closeness of the lodge occupants, especially after telephones were installed in the lodges. Whole families would get together, while the kids played outside, the parents were playing cards, usually pinochle.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved: Tommy Zinzi policing the Motor Parkway in front of the Meadow Brook Lodge

The man, the myth, the legend!

-The race car and its driver

He’s got his cigar! Of course, Barney Oldfield in a 1909 100hp 20 liter Christie FWD racer.

-The accomplishments of the race car

Barney Oldfield made a lap record on May 28, 1916, in the Christie with a time of 1:27.70, Average 102.623 MPH, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The medal he won for the feat below.

-The race car to the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Walter Christie raced in the 1905 & 1906 Races

-The driver to Wayne Carroll Petersen

Barney Oldfield’s great-great nephew

From Mystery Foto #28 Solved: Barney Oldfield in the 1909 Christie Racer which established the 102.6 mph Indy lap record in 1916

Would the engineer be Finley Robertson Porter, designer of the Mercer 35 ?
A very nice Mercer 35 Raceabout lived at the Long Island Auto Museum and remained in the Clark family for a number of years after the Museum closed.

From Henry Austin Clark Jr.'s Long Island Automotive Museum automobiles at the July 4, 1960 Southampton Parade

That is some very rare paper

From Greg O's Garage: From the Helck Family Collection: Stocks and Bonds