Q 01/05

Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 driving which yellow-and-black car?

A) Case Hornet

B) Lozier Special

C) National Forty

D) Marmon Wasp

Answer · why

D) Marmon Wasp

The Marmon Wasp was driven by Ray Harroun, Marmon's chief engineer, who had retired from racing until the company persuaded him to race one more time.

Q 02/05

What device did Ray Harroun famously bolt onto his car for the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?

A) A rear-view mirror

B) A seat belt

C) A roll bar

D) A windscreen wiper

Answer · why

A) A rear-view mirror

A rear-view mirror was Ray Harroun's answer when rival drivers complained that, racing without a riding mechanic, he couldn't see cars coming up behin...

Q 03/05

Which Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder went on to help create the Lincoln Highway and develop Miami Beach?

A) James Allison

B) Arthur Newby

C) Carl Fisher

D) Frank Wheeler

Answer · why

C) Carl Fisher

Carl Fisher was worth an estimated $50 million or more by 1925, but the 1926 hurricane that battered Miami Beach and the Depression left him nearly pe...

Q 04/05

What was the very first event held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in June 1909?

A) A motorcycle race

B) A gas-balloon race

C) An aeroplane show

D) A bicycle race

Answer · why

B) A gas-balloon race

A gas-balloon race came first; the motorcycle races that followed later that summer were cut short because the track's surface was in such poor condit...

Q 05/05

Before its famous bricks were laid in 1909, what was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's surface made of?

A) Wooden boards

B) Stone and tar

C) Concrete

D) Cinders

Answer · why

B) Stone and tar

Stone and tar made up the first surface, but after crashes killed five people at the first car races in 1909, the owners repaved the track with bricks...