|
|---|
Showing posts with label Barney Oldfield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barney Oldfield. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, October 11, 2010
A galley of photos of the Blitzen Benz
the engine was a 12.5 liter, 763 cu in
Eddie Rickenbacker... you may recall who he was, WW1 flying ace awarded the Medal of Honor in the 94th Aero Squadron, head of Eastern Airlines, owner of the Indy 500 racetrack, race car driver, and set a speed record in the Blitzen Benz of 134 mph... with a chain drive I want to point out. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/07/eddie-rickenbacker.html for a full biography of a remarkable icon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rickenbacker
Barney Oldfield at Ormond Beach in 1910... Barney was the first to drive a car at 60 mph, and in 1910he broke all existing speed records for the mile, two miles, and the kilometer in special runs at Ormond Beach, Fla. in the Blitzen Benz
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/02/barney-oldfield-american-icon-record.html
Photos are mostly from http://thechicaneblog.com/2010/07/26/art-appreciation-blitzen-benz/ one astonishing comment on the Chicane blog is " as some poor guy found out on the Pendine Sands of Wales, chain drive has a structural limit. Pass that limit and the chains decapitate you when they break."
Beach racing might have died with the whimper of 1909 except for Barney Oldfield. He was the most famous race driver in America. The Stanley Steamer’s 127 mph in 1906 remained the fastest any automobile had thus far traveled, and Oldfield wanted to set a new speed record and so bought the Blitzen Benz.
Scarcely had it been announced there would be no beach racing in 1910 than the statement was retracted and the Speed Carnival was reinstated in March “chiefly to give Barney Oldfield an opportunity to attack world’s straightaway records.”
Oldfield’s name was sufficient to ensure the success of the carnival (and draw a big crowd with lots of money) but to spice the proceedings, competing cars were encouraged to enter.
Beach racing might have died with the whimper of 1909 except for Barney Oldfield. He was the most famous race driver in America. The Stanley Steamer’s 127 mph in 1906 remained the fastest any automobile had thus far traveled, and Oldfield wanted to set a new speed record and so bought the Blitzen Benz.
Scarcely had it been announced there would be no beach racing in 1910 than the statement was retracted and the Speed Carnival was reinstated in March “chiefly to give Barney Oldfield an opportunity to attack world’s straightaway records.”
Oldfield’s name was sufficient to ensure the success of the carnival (and draw a big crowd with lots of money) but to spice the proceedings, competing cars were encouraged to enter.
Oldfield put on a spectacular show and set a speed record of 131.724 mph. “As near to the absolute limit of speed as humanity will ever travel,” said Barney loftily. The Florida Times-Union declared that only a bullet had traveled faster, making a superb advertising line for the Benz importer in New York.
Kaiser Wilhelm II cabled congratulations from Germany.
Thereafter Oldfield barnstormed the nation with the Benz, until that fall, when he engineered a match race against the heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson—a fine gimmick but illegal because Johnson was not an accredited race driver. Suspended by the AAA for a year, Oldfield raced in Mexico for a while, then sold the Benz to his manager, Ernie Moross, announced his retirement, and opened a saloon in Los Angeles.
To Oldfield’s considerable chagrin, Moross returned the Benz to the beach at Daytona in April 1911. His driver was Bob Burman, and there were no challengers to the car this time, but still, a large crowd gathered along the measured mile to watch Burman try for a new record.
“‘Here he comes—there he goes!’ summed up the story of the ride in a nutshell,” reported The Horseless Age after the run. Burman’s speed was 141.732 mph—a full ten miles an hour faster than Oldfield’s. Barney had typically held back during his Benz run so he could promote another “go-for-the-record” exhibition. Needless to say, Oldfield was furious and came out of retirement to seek vengeance. But the “fastest speed at which man has ever traveled over the earth’s surface” belonged to Burman for eight years. So phenomenal was 141-plus mph that automobile makers throughout the world were loath to consider building a car to attempt to top it.
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1987/7/1987_7_92.shtml
Thereafter Oldfield barnstormed the nation with the Benz, until that fall, when he engineered a match race against the heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson—a fine gimmick but illegal because Johnson was not an accredited race driver. Suspended by the AAA for a year, Oldfield raced in Mexico for a while, then sold the Benz to his manager, Ernie Moross, announced his retirement, and opened a saloon in Los Angeles.
To Oldfield’s considerable chagrin, Moross returned the Benz to the beach at Daytona in April 1911. His driver was Bob Burman, and there were no challengers to the car this time, but still, a large crowd gathered along the measured mile to watch Burman try for a new record.
“‘Here he comes—there he goes!’ summed up the story of the ride in a nutshell,” reported The Horseless Age after the run. Burman’s speed was 141.732 mph—a full ten miles an hour faster than Oldfield’s. Barney had typically held back during his Benz run so he could promote another “go-for-the-record” exhibition. Needless to say, Oldfield was furious and came out of retirement to seek vengeance. But the “fastest speed at which man has ever traveled over the earth’s surface” belonged to Burman for eight years. So phenomenal was 141-plus mph that automobile makers throughout the world were loath to consider building a car to attempt to top it.
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1987/7/1987_7_92.shtml
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Barney Oldfield and the Golden Submarine, 1917
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/03/miller-golden-sbmarine-raced-by-barney.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/02/barney-oldfield-american-icon-record.html
" the streamlined car's enclosed cockpit was an attempt by Oldfield to improve safety after his friend and fellow racer, Bob Burman, was killed"
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/02/barney-oldfield-american-icon-record.html
" the streamlined car's enclosed cockpit was an attempt by Oldfield to improve safety after his friend and fellow racer, Bob Burman, was killed"Sunday, February 18, 2007
Barney Oldfield, American icon, record setter
Barney Oldfield was the first man to drive a car at 60miles per hour (100 kmh).
On Memorial Day in 1903 in New York, Oldfield drove a mile in a minute flat in another match-race victory. Two months later, he powered the car to a mile run in 0:55.8 and that was enough for Winton to hire Oldfield, complete with salary, expenses and free cars.
His accomplishments led to the expression "Who do you think you are? Barney Oldfield?"
In 1910, Oldfield bought a Benz, in which he broke all existing speed records for the mile, two miles, and the kilometer in special runs at Ormond Beach, Fla. After that, he was able to charge a whopping $4,000 for personal appearances, something he didn't mind at all.
Once suspended by the American Automobile Association, the sanctioning body of the day, because of his "outlaw" racing activities, much of Oldfield's legitimate racing career was lost during his prime.
However, he competed at Indianapolis after being reinstated and his best finishes were fifth in 1914 and 1916. Additionally, he ran the first 100 miles per hour lap in Indianapolis history.
http://digitaldoorway.net/The_Barney_Timeline.html
He helped found the Fisher Automobile Company, was a developer for Firestone tires, beat Winton (the founder of the Winton Car Company) in a Ford (by Fords requesting him as the driver), and had been inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports hall of fame of America.
Legend, pioneer, innovator.
http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1990/Barney_Oldfield_main.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am485_98/sarratt/barney.html
http://www.rumbledrome.com/barney.html
On Memorial Day in 1903 in New York, Oldfield drove a mile in a minute flat in another match-race victory. Two months later, he powered the car to a mile run in 0:55.8 and that was enough for Winton to hire Oldfield, complete with salary, expenses and free cars.
His accomplishments led to the expression "Who do you think you are? Barney Oldfield?"
In 1910, Oldfield bought a Benz, in which he broke all existing speed records for the mile, two miles, and the kilometer in special runs at Ormond Beach, Fla. After that, he was able to charge a whopping $4,000 for personal appearances, something he didn't mind at all.
Once suspended by the American Automobile Association, the sanctioning body of the day, because of his "outlaw" racing activities, much of Oldfield's legitimate racing career was lost during his prime.
However, he competed at Indianapolis after being reinstated and his best finishes were fifth in 1914 and 1916. Additionally, he ran the first 100 miles per hour lap in Indianapolis history.
http://digitaldoorway.net/The_Barney_Timeline.html
He helped found the Fisher Automobile Company, was a developer for Firestone tires, beat Winton (the founder of the Winton Car Company) in a Ford (by Fords requesting him as the driver), and had been inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports hall of fame of America.
Legend, pioneer, innovator.
http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1990/Barney_Oldfield_main.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am485_98/sarratt/barney.html
http://www.rumbledrome.com/barney.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
