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Indy 500 The Race That Started It All
A high school classroom docuseries about the Indianapolis 500.
Four men, one cornfield, and a 31-year-old engineer who put the first rearview mirror on a car. How the Indianapolis 500 began on May 30, 1911.
On May 30, 1911, eighty thousand people watched Ray Harroun win the first Indianapolis 500. He drove a yellow-and-black single-seater called the Marmon Wasp, with a small mirror bolted above the steering wheel. It is believed to be the first rearview mirror ever mounted on an automobile. This is how it started.
In 1908, Indianapolis did not have a racetrack. Four men changed that. Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler bought 328 acres of farmland five miles northwest of downtown for $72,000 and built a 2.5-mile oval. Three years later, on May 30, 1911, a 31-year-old engineer named Ray Harroun crossed the finish line first in a yellow-and-black car called the Marmon Wasp. He had designed it himself. He had also bolted a small mirror above the steering wheel, copying an idea from a horse-drawn taxi he had once seen in Chicago. It is believed to be the first rearview mirror ever mounted on an automobile.
This episode covers:
Why four Indianapolis businessmen built a private racetrack in 1909
Why the original gravel-and-tar surface killed five people on opening weekend
How Ray Harroun's engineering mindset changed motorsports forever
The math of the 1911 race compared to a modern Indy 500
One specific habit you can borrow from a man who lived more than 100 years ago
Sources include History.com, the IMS Museum, Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, the 1911 Indianapolis 500 entry on Wikipedia (citing primary sources), The Henry Ford collection, and Marmon Holdings corporate history. Full bibliography in the show notes and teacher curriculum.
Hosted and produced by Anthony McDonald in Indianapolis, Indiana. Part of the Learn.WitUS curriculum platform. Full teacher curriculum, worksheets, knowledge checks, and Indiana Academic Standards alignment available free at the course page.
Episode 2, "3.2 Million Bricks," releases next week.
View all episodes
By Brand Anthony McDonaldA high school classroom docuseries about the Indianapolis 500.
Four men, one cornfield, and a 31-year-old engineer who put the first rearview mirror on a car. How the Indianapolis 500 began on May 30, 1911.
On May 30, 1911, eighty thousand people watched Ray Harroun win the first Indianapolis 500. He drove a yellow-and-black single-seater called the Marmon Wasp, with a small mirror bolted above the steering wheel. It is believed to be the first rearview mirror ever mounted on an automobile. This is how it started.
In 1908, Indianapolis did not have a racetrack. Four men changed that. Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler bought 328 acres of farmland five miles northwest of downtown for $72,000 and built a 2.5-mile oval. Three years later, on May 30, 1911, a 31-year-old engineer named Ray Harroun crossed the finish line first in a yellow-and-black car called the Marmon Wasp. He had designed it himself. He had also bolted a small mirror above the steering wheel, copying an idea from a horse-drawn taxi he had once seen in Chicago. It is believed to be the first rearview mirror ever mounted on an automobile.
This episode covers:
Why four Indianapolis businessmen built a private racetrack in 1909
Why the original gravel-and-tar surface killed five people on opening weekend
How Ray Harroun's engineering mindset changed motorsports forever
The math of the 1911 race compared to a modern Indy 500
One specific habit you can borrow from a man who lived more than 100 years ago
Sources include History.com, the IMS Museum, Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, the 1911 Indianapolis 500 entry on Wikipedia (citing primary sources), The Henry Ford collection, and Marmon Holdings corporate history. Full bibliography in the show notes and teacher curriculum.
Hosted and produced by Anthony McDonald in Indianapolis, Indiana. Part of the Learn.WitUS curriculum platform. Full teacher curriculum, worksheets, knowledge checks, and Indiana Academic Standards alignment available free at the course page.
Episode 2, "3.2 Million Bricks," releases next week.