On August 19, 1911, the first race was held at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous
motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500.
Built on farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana,
the speedway was started by local businessmen as a testing
facility for Indiana’s growing automobile industry.
The idea was that occasional races at the track would pit cars
from different manufacturers against each other. After seeing
what these cars could do, spectators would presumably head
down to the showroom of their choice to get a closer look.
Ray Harroun won the race in his Harmon Wasp with an
average speed of 74.6 mph.
