Barney Oldfield The Life and Times of America’s Legendary Speed King Revised, Expanded Edition by William F. Nolan Brown Fox TM Books C A R P I N T E R I A C A L I F O R N I A Published by Brown Fox Books, Carpinteria, California ISBN 1-888978-12-0 ISBN 1-888978-13-0 Limited edition, leather binding First published in 1961 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York Copyright © 1961 by William F. Nolan. Copyright © renewed 1989 by William F. Nolan. All new text in this edition Copyright © 2002 by William F. Nolan. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, with the exception of quoting brief passages for purpose of review. Requests for permissions should be addressed to the publisher: Brown Fox Books 1090 Eugenia Place Carpinteria, California 93013 Tel: 1-805-684-5951 Email: [email protected] www.BrownFoxBooks.com Second Edition—revised Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nolan, William F., 1928- Barney Oldfield : the life and times of America’s legendary speed king / William F. Nolan.—Rev., expanded ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-888978-12-0 1. Oldfield, Barney, 1878-1946. 2. Automobile racing drivers— United States—Biography. I. Title. GV 1032.04 N6 2002 796.72’092—dc21 [B] 2002027845 Body type is set in Electra; titles and photo captions are Serifa; index and tables are set in Stone Sans. Printed in the USA. First printing, October 2002. C O N T E N T S Preface 9 Introduction 10 C H A P T E R One Duel in the Michigan Dust 13 Two The Raw Years 17 Three With the Wild Two-Wheelers 22 Four A Mile-A-Minute! 32 Five Death by Bullet 42 Six Giant on a Green Dragon 48 Seven From Broadway to Briarcliff 57 Eight Speed King of the World 64 Nine Outlaw Days 94 Ten To Tame a Beast 104 Eleven Courage at Corona 121 Twelve From Beachey to the Vanderbilt Cup 125 Thirteen On the Bricks at Indianapolis 135 Fourteen A Fabulous Drive in the Cactus Derby 141 Fifteen Of Tragedies and Triumphs 161 Sixteen The Weird and Wonderful Golden Sub 174 Seventeen Life with Firestone 184 Eighteen From Lost Fortunes to a Dream at Daytona 189 Nineteen Into Legend 204 Bibliography 211 Acknowledgments 213 Appendix 1: Barney Oldfield’s Non-Championship Career Performance 215 Appendix 2: Barney Oldfield’s Championship Career Performance 224 Index 226 PREFACE T O T H E N E W E D I T I O N Barney Oldfield is a racing icon, At his prime, just beyond the century’s turn, his name quickened the heartbeat of a nation. Crowds cheered wildly when he stood up in the cockpit of his “Green Dragon” and shouted: “You know me, Barney Oldfield!” And indeed they did. They called him “The Mile-a-Minute Champion”…“America’s Pre- mier Driver”…“The Human Comet”… “Wizard of the Track”… and “The Daredevil Dean of the Roaring Road.” In 1910, breaking the land speed record at Daytona Beach, he was the official “Speed King of the World.” No driver of his time was more beloved. In the words of artist-histo- rian Peter Helck: Idolized by tens of thousands... engaged in [a dozen] splintering crashes… suspended frequently for violations of the official ruling… a hippodromer who performed spectacularly... (“wherever I got the sugar”), he was “The Old Master.” I wrote this book about him more than four decades ago and it has taken its place in automotive history as the only published biography of one of the great pioneers of American racing. And although motor cops no longer accost speeders with “Who do you think you are, Barney Old- field?” his legend is secure. There was no one like him in his day and there’s been no one like him since. Barney Oldfield has been long out of print, relegated to the shelves of automotive libraries and specialist collectors. Therefore, I am genuinely grateful that Brown Fox Books has elected to republish it in this handsome new edition—a cause of celebration for racing fans and history buffs. And very special thanks to Mark Godfrey for his lengthy, painstaking work in gathering the fine period photographs for this new edition. He also de- signed the layout and provided the photo captions. His contributions are greatly appreciated. No author could ask for a finer editor/publisher. Barney left us in 1946, but in these historic pages, in the dirt-track dust of motorized battle, the Old Master lives again. W. F. N . West Hills, California July, 2002 Chapter One Duel in the Michigan Dust HE MORNING OF OCTOBER 25, 1902, dawned chill and gray over Michigan. The sky was a shifting Tmass of oppressive, slate-colored clouds, and by noon a gust of wind-driven rain had dampened the mile oval at Grosse Pointe, just east of Detroit. The popular horse track, proudly de- scribed by a local newspaper as “the most beautiful in the coun- try,” was originally laid out over a stretch of low-lying marshland bordering the Detroit River, and many spirited thoroughbreds had galloped to dusty victory on its dirt surface. However, on this particular afternoon, the five-mile main event (for the Manu- facturers’ Challenge Cup) was not to be contested by four-legged steeds. No, here at Grosse Pointe, before some 2,000 impatient spectators, that awesome turn-of-the-century phenomenon, the automobile, would unleash its frightening speed. Excitement was in the air. The nation’s automotive champion, Alexander Winton, millionaire founder of the Winton Motor Car- riage Company in Cleveland, and the man responsible for America’s first commercially successful motor car, was here to drive his fabled “Bullet,” a machine capable of brutal track speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour. He was certain to vanquish the field, and with a well- dampened track a new record might be in the offing. To understand properly the avid curiosity engendered by such an event, it must be borne in mind that America, in 1902, was still a land of the horse and buggy. Millions of Americans had never seen an 13 Barney Oldfield automobile, and beyond the large cities the auto was all but unknown as a form of transportation. For example, auto registrations for the entire state of New York totaled just 909. Extensive four-wheeled travel was impossible, with only 178 miles of paved road throughout the country. Nevertheless, the auto had definitely progressed beyond the fad stage, and businessmen such as Winton knew that the quick- est way to lure potential buyers was to prove a machine’s durability and speed in open competition. Therefore, on this gray Saturday af- ternoon at Grosse Pointe, Alex Winton had his sights firmly set on an- other racing triumph for the Bullet. (Scottish-born, Winton was nineteen when he landed in New York, in 1879, and at thirty had founded a bicycle company in Cleve- land. By 1896 he put an automobile of his own design on the road, and was credited with the first commercial sale of an auto in the United States, two years later.) Winton’s main competitor in the five-miler was said to be the larg- est car in Detroit, the powerful Geneva Steamer. With its huge wheelbase, four massive boilers and tall stack, the Steamer dwarfed the low, flat-bodied Bullet, and trackside wagers were made that the Scotsman might well taste defeat at the hands of Bucknam, who was to pilot the big steam-driven vehicle. Only three other cars were en- tered: Shanks, in the Winton “Pup,” White in his own White Steamer and the ex-cycling star Tom Cooper in an odd crimson- painted creation listed simply as “999.” Though it had not yet been tested under racing conditions, this unique automobile posed a solid threat to both Winton and Bucknam. Its monstrous four-cylinder engine promised to deliver almost twice the horsepower of the Bullet—75 against 40, and its rigid ashwood- and steel-plated chassis was stripped of all nonessen- tial weight. However, handling the machine at speed was a serious problem, and brute strength was required to operate the heavy iron control bar. Due to the unyielding frame, any sizable chuck hole would pitch the entire car into the air, necessitating emergency ac- tion at the tiller. Also, since the stark machine lacked protective body- paneling, its driver was subjected to a continuous oil bath from the exposed crankshaft. 14 Duel in the Michigan Dust As the race was about to get under way, Winton, a dapper mus- tached man in spotless attire, climbed into the high seat of his Bul- let with a confident smile. He waved a gloved hand to the crowd as a spectator shouted: “We’re betting on you, Alex. Make ‘em eat your dust!” Then Winton noticed that Tom Cooper was not in the bucket seat of 999. Instead, a husky youth with a shock of dark hair above his goggles sat nervously in Cooper’s place. “Who’s that?” Winton inquired of an associate. “Some kid named Oldfield. I hear this is his first race. Don’t worry about him.” Winton nodded, more confident than ever. Since Cooper had been foolish enough to send a novice against veterans the potential threat of 999 could be disregarded. Oldfield, trailing the other cars, seemed unsure of himself as the group rolled toward the starting tape, but as the flag snapped down he immediately shot ahead, sweeping around the first turn with a clear lead over a startled Winton.