Automobile Races

On the Historic Half-mile Racetrack at the

Kansas State Fairgrounds

 Hutchinson, Kansas

Saturday, September 21, 1912

 

The second largest crowd of the week turned out for the “speed program” on the closing day of the State Fair.  The grandstand was packed and there were another 3,000 people watching from the center of the track and outside of the grandstands.  Both motorcycle racing and automobile racing were on the day’s program.

It was the prevailing opinion among the crowd yesterday that the Benz car which Oldfield was carrying was the same car in which he first gained fame however, this was not the case.  “The old Blitzen Benz is now the property of Bob Burman* and the one owned by Mr. Oldfield is the Prince Henry Benz.  It earned the name when it won the Prince Henry cup in Germany.  It is a good machine and Mr. Oldfield has used it in several long trips.”

 

 

Stock Car Race – 6 Laps

Place

Driver

Automobile

Time

1

W. W. Brown**

Buick Model 10

4:16.6

2

Thomas N. “Nels” Blondefield

Buick Model 10

 

            Something went wrong with Brown’s Buick and it fell about 100 yards behind on the start but managed to pull away to an eighth of a mile lead by the end.

 

 

Exhibition Run Against Time – 2 Laps

Place

Driver

Automobile

Time

1

Barney Oldfield**

Cino

1:16.6

 

 

Exhibition Run Against Time – 2 Laps

Place

Driver

Automobile

Time

1

Barney Oldfield**

V-4 Christie

1:10.0

 

 

Exhibition Race – 4 Laps

Place

Driver

Automobile

Time

1

Barney Oldfield**

Cino

2:13.0

2

Louis Heinemann

Prince Henry Benz

2:29.0

 

 

Harry Taylor was the official starter of these races.

 

 

 

 

Barney Oldfield in his Christie

Barney Oldfield (1878-1946) ran two laps (one mile) in 70 seconds flat on this day at Hutchinson, Kansas.  That was a new track record for that distance that stood for the next two years.  The front-wheel-drive car had been built by John Walter Christie (1865-1944) in 1909 and sold to Oldfield earlier in 1912.  The V-4 engine was rated at 135 horsepower and had a displacement of 1,237 cubic inches – Dick Wallen collection

 

 

 

*The Blitzen Benz was actually owned by Ernest A. “Ernie” Moross (1873-1949) who had hired Bob Burman (1884-1916) to drive it for him.

 

**Oldfield’s Cino automobile was only powered by a 35-HP engine so it is highly unlikely that he was able to run the four laps nearly as quickly as was claimed over the megaphone to the crowd that day and in the local newspapers the next day.  Both Barney Oldfield (1878-1946) and W. W. Brown (1886-1958) went on to compete in the Indianapolis “500”.

 

 

 

 

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