How a exploding tire and five deaths created the legendary “Brickyard” in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Speedway’s Deadly 1909 Opening Weekend

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s first races in August 1909 turned into a blood bath. Carl Fisher’s new track, built with crushed stone and tar, fell apart from the start.

First, champion motorcyclist Jake DeRosier’s tire blew up on the sharp stones. Then cars took to the track, and death came fast. Five people died in just days.

In response, Fisher did something bold: he paved the entire 2.5-mile oval with 3. 2 million bricks in just 63 days.

The “Brickyard” was born, and racing would never be the same. Today, you can see a slice of those original bricks at the Speedway Museum.

Carl Fisher Built a Dream Speedway on Indiana Farmland

Carl Fisher and his friends bought 328 acres of Pressley Farm for $72,000 in December 1908. They wanted to build America’s first real car racing track.

Work started in March 1909 with 500 workers and 300 mules turning farmland into a speedway. They made a 2.5-mile oval track with crushed stone and tar.

Fisher first wanted a road course inside the oval but added more seats instead. The track would test cars for Indiana’s car makers, with races to show off different brands.

The Track Surface Was a Recipe for Disaster

Workers built a complex track surface. They started with packed dirt, added 2 inches of gravel, then 2 inches of limestone covered with a tar mix called taroid.

Next came 1-2 inches of crushed stone soaked in taroid and a final layer of stone dust. Six-ton rollers packed it all down, but the surface fell apart during races.

The crew also built seats for 12,000 fans, bridges, and an 8-foot fence. Everything got painted white with green trim for opening day.

Motorcycle Racers Refused to Continue After Seeing the Dangers

The first races happened on August 14, 1909, with seven motorcycle events.

Things went bad fast when star rider Jake DeRosier crashed after his front tire blew on sharp stones during a race against Ed Lingenfelder.

DeRosier spent nine days in the hospital, ending the motorcycle races early. The track tore up tires and formed ruts that twisted handlebars from riders’ hands.

The other riders saw what happened and refused to race on such a dangerous track.

Opening Day for Cars Turned Into a Dust and Gravel Nightmare

Car races began on August 19, 1909, with 15,000 fans paying up to $1 to watch.

Louis Schwitzer won the first car race, going 57.4 mph for 5 miles. But the track broke apart right away.

Drivers got covered in dirt, oil, and tar. Ruts and holes formed in the turns while flying rocks broke goggles and cut faces.

Louis Chevrolet lost his sight when a stone smashed his goggles during the 250-mile race. The track kept falling apart as the races went on.

Two Young Racers Lost Their Lives in the First Fatal Crash

William Bourque, only 26, crashed his Knox car during the 250-mile Prest-O-Lite Trophy race when his rear axle broke.

The car flipped over before hitting a fence post.

Both Bourque and his mechanic Harry Holcomb, just 22, died on the spot. Despite these deaths, AAA officials let the other races continue on the crumbling track.

Workers tried to fix things by oiling and rolling the surface between races, but couldn’t stop it from getting worse.

A Volunteer Mechanic and Two Fans Died in the Final Day’s Horror

The third day of racing on August 22 drew 35,000 people for the 300-mile finale.

Claude Stewart Kellum, 35, stepped in as a replacement mechanic for Charlie Merz after the original mechanic collapsed.

About 175 miles into the race, the right front tire on Merz’s car blew out at 60-70 mph.

The car flew more than 100 feet, crashed through five fence posts, and landed in a crowd. Kellum and two fans, James West and Omar Jolliffe, died instantly.

Racing Officials Threatened to Blacklist the Speedway

Officials stopped the race right after Kellum’s crash. They gave the remaining drivers certificates instead of trophies.

The American Automobile Association threatened to ban the track unless major safety changes happened. Fisher and his partners faced money troubles with their huge investment in this dangerous track.

They knew the crushed stone surface didn’t work for fast racing and decided to completely redo the entire 2. 5-mile oval.

Bricks Beat Concrete in Fisher’s Racing Surface Tests

Fisher and his team tested different paving materials to find the best option. Johnny Aitken drove a car over test sections of brick and concrete at various speeds.

They even tied Aitken’s car down with ropes and ran the engine full blast on brick surfaces to test how long they’d last.

Bricks worked better than concrete for grip and staying power during races. About 3.2 million 10-pound Culver blocks were used for the big project.

Workers Laid Millions of Bricks in Just 63 Days

The repaving had only 63 days to finish. They also built a 33-inch concrete wall around all four corners and the main seats.

Workers placed each 9-inch by 4-inch brick by hand over 2 inches of sand, then leveled them and filled gaps with cement.

The project cost over $180,000, bringing the total track cost to nearly $700,000. Crews worked day and night to beat Indiana’s winter weather.

Indiana’s Governor Placed the Final Gold Brick

The last brick went in on December 14, 1909, during a special ceremony. Indiana Governor Thomas R.Marshall laid the final gold-plated brass brick in freezing 9-degree weather.

Locals already called the track “The Brickyard” before construction even finished. About 500 brave people stood in the bitter cold to watch the ceremony and first test runs.

Four motorcyclists made ceremonial laps followed by three racers who set speed records on the new brick surface.

The Brickyard Became the World’s Fastest and Safest Track

Lewis Strang wasted no time setting speed records on the new brick surface, hitting 111. 86 mph for one mile. Drivers reached speeds up to 112 mph, proving the superior performance and safety of the bricks.

December 1909 time trials showed the world that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had become the most advanced racing facility anywhere.

The 1910 season featured 66 successful races over three holiday weekends with a much better safety record.

The success of the brick surface led to the creation of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911, establishing the speedway’s legendary status in racing history.

Visiting Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum at 4750 W 16th Street shows how the track’s disastrous 1909 opening led to the famous brick surface.

Adult admission is $25 and includes access to the Heritage Group Gasoline Alley Gallery with seven historic garage recreations.

You can take the Kiss the Bricks bus tour for a track lap and visit the yard of bricks. Enter through Gate 2 with free parking on non-event days.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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