106 years ago today: The first auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The 100th Indianapolis 500 is still nine months away, but today is the 106th anniversary of the first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IMS had already held a balloon race and a race for motorcycles, but on Aug. 19, 1909, cars took to the 2.5-mile oval for the first time. An estimated 12,000 spectators were on hand as Louis Schwitzer, chief engineer of Stoddard-Dayton, won the race at an average of 57mph in his Stoddard Dayton touring car over a five-lap sprint race.

The tar and crushed rock surface broke up badly during the race, so IMS set about replacing it with bricks, and the sprint-race format in favor of a longer endurance event, for the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Improvements in the technology of the cars and the track showed as Ray Harroun averaged 74.6mph over 500 miles in winning the first "500."

Schwitzer drove in the iaugural Indy 500 as a relief driver for starter Harry Cobe, and went on to serve on the IMS Technical Committee from 1912 through 1945. He also had a significant role in automotive engineering, helping to pioneer improvements in cooling fans, water pumps and oil pumps, as well as the turbocharger.