The Legend of the First Super Speedway: The Battle for the Soul of American Auto Racing

Barney Oldfield riveted his eyes into one of the 3.2 million bricks that paved America's First Super Speedway. He sought to blot out the din of a packed grandstand and the dangerous gusts that could sweep his car into the unforgiving concrete wall. A record run could restore his reputation as America's Speed King or cost him his life. A record run could deliver the telling blow in the raging culture war for the soul of American auto racing. Oldfield has the fastest car in the world, and now he must prove himself as America's champion and ensure the success of his friend Carl Fisher's titanic battle to raise the modern Indianapolis Motor Speedway up from a fallow cornfield. It's May 1910 and you have a front-row seat.

The Legend of the First Super Speedway thrusts you into the early 20th century with vivid interpretations of auto racing and what it would be like to walk among the people and grasp their world view. You will meet the rugged characters of the era as they get "corned" on whiskey, chew "chaw," and bounce violently as they scorch the bricks of America's first speedway. You will ride with them on trains, bound across the craggy terrain of road races, and step over dead horses rotting in the street. The world convulsed with technological change, and the winners mastered it.

Everything unfolds through the eyes of protagonists Barney Oldfield and Carl Fisher as they grapple with a cultural battle for the soul of American auto racing. Most importantly, early auto racing's good, bad, and ugly are put before you in an unvarnished fashion. Why? Because it really happened. No storyteller needs to dramatize a single detail because the amazing events actually took place and the awe-inspiring people behind them walked the Earth just as you do now.

Born in Indianapolis, Mark Dill has a life-long involvement with auto racing. While studying journalism at Indiana University, Mark worked as news director of Indianapolis Raceway Park. He then took a turn racing cars in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition. Later, Mark led Nortel's sponsorship of the car that won the 1997 Indianapolis 500. In 2010, Mark was Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for three racing seasons. He has written articles about the sport's early history for IMS programs, historical society magazines, and auto racing journals. Mark assisted New York historian Howard Kroplick to complete his book, "The Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island." Currently, Mark consults the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) in public relations. He also operates the Website, First Super Speedway (www.firstsuperspeedway.com), the largest online archive of pre-1920 auto racing history in the world.