On May 30, 1911, Ray Harroun (above) dove his single-seater
Marmon Wasp to victory in the inaugural Indianapolis 500,
now one of the world’s most famous motor racing events.

The Indiana automobile dealer Carl Fisher first proposed
building a private auto testing facility in 1906, in order to
address car manufacturers’ inability to test potential top
speeds of new cars due to the poorly developed state of
the public roadways. The result, the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, built on 328 acres of farmland five miles
northwest of downtown Indianapolis.

Ray Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968)

Harroun’s original Marmon “Wasp” on display at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway Museum.