Writer of Pop Culture

It’s surprising to learn that the first race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn’t involve cars! About two months before the classic oval raceway was completed, the Speedway launched a balloon race where nine gas-filled balloons raced with 40,000 spectators watching. About 15,000-20,000 people showed up for the main event in 1909 featuring 15 drivers and their teams. It was a rough race.

During the practice, the drivers got covered in dirt, oil and tar from the chuckholes on the track. During the first 250-mile race, the leader of the pack, Louis Chevrolet, became temporarily blinded when a rock jumped up and smashed through his goggles. Driver Wilfred Bourque flipped end over end just before hitting a fence post during the last part of the race. He died at the scene.

Though there were two more days of racing planned, they were almost scrapped due to safety concerns. However, after assurances that the track would be safe to drive on, no major accidents occurred during the second day of racing. However, during the 300-mile grand finale on the third day, Charlie Merz’s front right tire blew out. The car crashed through a fence and into the way of many spectators, two of which died. Then, another driver, Bruce Keen, hit a pothole and crashed into a bridge support. Obviously, this halted any more races for the track unless significant improvements were made. Less than a month later, the track was paved the rest is history.