Harvest Auto Racing Classic
The Harvest Auto Racing Classic was a series of three automobile races held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday September 9, 1916. The meet, held four months after the 1916 Indianapolis 500, featured a 20-mile race, a 50-mile race, and a 100-mile race. The main event, a 100-mile Championship Car race, paid points towards the 1916 AAA National Championship. Johnny Aitken won all three races, two of which had a margin of victory of less than a car length.
The event was a unique footnote in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Between 1911 and 1993, the Harvest Auto Racing Classic was the only time an official race other than the Indianapolis 500 was contested at the track. It as also the last event held at the facility prior to the United States involvement in World War I. The track would shut down for two years during the war, and reopened in 1919.
Race background
The 1916 Indianapolis 500 was held on May 30, 1916. Under unique circumstances, the race was scheduled for 300 miles rather than the traditional 500-mile distance. World War I was escalating abroad, but the United States had not yet entered the war. Parallel to that, Speedway president Carl G. Fisher was in a ongoing feud with the local hoteliers, and at the same time was under an impression that fans thought that 500 miles was too long of a race. He believed in the idea that fans may better enjoy a shorter event, and thus the race was shortened to a 300-mile distance. After a lackluster reception, the decision was quickly reversed, and the Memorial Day classic was to revert back to 500 miles for 1917. The 1917 Indianapolis 500 was scheduled, however, Speedway management understood that the race may be cancelled on account of the United States entering the war.For 1916, the AAA Contest Board established and recognized an official points-paying National Championship of drivers. Between the years of 1904 and 1919, although AAA sanctioned many races, an official national championship was only awarded in 1905 and 1916. In an effort to bolster the 1916 season, it was decided to add a second race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After hosting multiple race meets in 1909 and 1910, starting in 1911 the Indianapolis 500 would be the only race held annually. This second race meet would be the first time in five years that another race would be held at the famous and well-equipped Brickyard.
The event was seen by Carl Fisher as an opportunity for the Speedway to generate gate revenue, particularly if the 1917 Indianapolis 500 were to be cancelled, which it ultimately was. It was the last time a race other than the Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until the Brickyard 400 began in 1994.
The race was given the title the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, a reference to the harvest season of late summer/early autumn. The event was originally planned for Labor Day weekend, however, the new board track in Cincinnati took the Labor Day date. To avoid a conflict, and to attract a stronger field, Indianapolis chose to run the weekend after. The race was scheduled for Saturday September 9, which also conveniently fell after the close of the Indiana State Fair. The meet would consist of three races, a 20-mile race, a 50-mile race, followed by a 100-mile race. The first two races would be non-points races, while the 100-mile race would pay AAA championship points. The track would be made available for practice and testing for a couple days prior to race day. To entertain fans, a band contest was included as part of the festivities.
Race rules
All three races of the Harvest Auto Racing Classic were run under the auspices of the AAA Contest Board, and were contested with the same cars that ran in the Indianapolis 500 and other national championship events. Drivers could participate in one, two, or all three of the races. Each race was scored independently, and respective results in each race had no bearing on subsequent races. Separate cash prizes were posted for each of the three races. Riding mechanics were utilized.Officials decided not to have a pace car for the first two shorter races. For the 20-mile and 50-mile races, the field would be lined up about 50 yards north of the start/finish line. When the signal was given, the field conducted a rolling start to the stripe. For the 100-mile race, it was decided to utilize a pace car. The field circulated for one unscored warm-up lap, and started the race from a flying start, in the same manner as the Indianapolis 500.
Entry list
As many as 25 entries were expected, however, the final entry list consisted of only twenty cars, and that number later dwindled. More than one entry withdrew from the weekend, some after suffering irreparable damage at Cincinnati. The short field was considered a disappointment for the event, as it mirrored the low turnout experienced in May. No elimination trials were held, ostensibly due to the small field of entries, and due to the fact that all cars had practiced over 95 mph. A blind draw was conducted mid-week for each of the three races to set the starting lineups. However, the grids were later adjusted based on car counts.Dario Resta, the winner of the "500" back in May, did not enter after blowing the engine in his car at Cincinnati. Ralph DePalma, the 1915 "500" winner had skipped the 1916 race due to a dispute with management over appearance fees. DePalma and the track reconciled, and he submitted an entry, but since he blew his Mercedes engine at Cincinnati, it was unclear for a few days which car he would drive. Later in the week, DePalma was named to the Peugeot team owned by the Speedway, taking over the car of Charlie Merz. Also failing to arrive was William Muller, who suffered an engine failure at the Cincinnati race, and Gil Anderson who was seriously injured after a crash at Cincinnati.
entered the event after skipping the 1916 Indianapolis 500.
| Car | Driver | Notes |
| Burman Special |  Jack Gable | Did not arrive |
| Dans l'Argent | William Muller | Did not arrive |
| Duesenberg | Tommy Milton | |
| Duesenberg | Wilbur D'Alene | |
| Duesenberg | George Buzane | |
| Duesenberg | Charles Devlin | |
| Hoskins Special | Tom Alley | replaced by Hughie Hughes |
| Kleinart | Art Klein | withdrew |
| Maxwell | Eddie Rickenbacker | |
| Maxwell |  Pete Henderson | |
| Omar | Omar Toft | |
| Ostewig Special |  Swan Ostewig | |
| Peugeot | Johnny Aitken | |
| Peugeot | Charlie Merz | replaced by Ralph DePalma |
| Premier | Dave Lewis | |
| Premier | Howdy Wilcox | |
| Rawlings | unnamed | |
| Sunbeam |  Josef Christiaens | |
| Sunbeam | Frank Galvin | replaced by Louis Chevrolet |
| TBA |  Ralph DePalma | DePalma took over Peugeot entry |
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Practice
On Thursday September 7, Wilbur D'Alene became the first driver to take to the track. He completed a few practice laps, but no other drivers went out. On Friday September 8, Johnny Aitken led the speed chart with a lap of 98.9 mph. He ran three more fast laps, then parked his car for the day. Other cars taking practice laps were Dave Lewis, Josef Christiaens, and George Buzane. As practice continued, several drivers announced their intentions to skip the 20-mile and/or the 50-mile races, in favor of concentrating on the important 100-mile championship race. Eddie Rickenbacker and Tommy Milton decided only to race the 100-mile event, while Johnny Aitken and Ralph DePalma were among those who elected to attempt all three.
Light ticket sales during the week began to worry Speedway management. The Indiana State Fair closed on Friday, which the Speedway hoped would help bolster the Saturday crowd at the track. Instead, it began to appear that the locals did not have the interest to attend the races so soon after the fair. On Friday, Speedway general manager Theodore E. "Pop" Myers announced that the start time for Saturday would be pushed back from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. This would allow fans that had to work on Saturday morning additional time to travel to the track.
On Saturday morning, a final practice session and a band contest was held to entertain early-arriving spectators. Johnny Aitken ran a practice lap of 1 minute-31 seconds, matching his lap time from Friday. Also turning fast laps were Wilcox and Lewis. Art Klein was considering withdrawing due to engine trouble, and William Muller did withdraw. Driver Jack Gable was unable to arrive from Chicago to drive the Burman Special, which left as few as 14 cars ready to race in the garage area.
20 mile race
The competition for the day began with an 8-lap, 20-mile race at about 2 p.m. A mostly disappointing crowd of only 10,000-12,000 spectators arrived on a sunny, pleasant afternoon A total of ten cars lined up for a posted $1,000 prize purse. Some drivers, including Eddie Rickenbacker, elected to sit out the two shorter sprint races and instead save their machines for the 100-mile race to be held later in the day. Louis Chevrolet drew the pole position for the 20-mile race, and the field lined up in three rows. From a standing start about fifty yards north of the start/finish line, the field rolled en masse to the timing line, and flagman Charles Sedwick waved the red flag to start the race.Johnny Aitken took the lead from the outside of the front row, with Louis Chevrolet in second and Howdy Wilcox in third. Pete Henderson dropped out on the first lap. Wilcox passed Chevrolet for second place on lap two, while Aitken continued to lead.
At the halfway point, Aitken and Wilcox were running nose to tail. The top two cars had stretched a lead of about 200 yards over Chevrolet in third place. On the final lap, Wilcox followed closely behind Aitken, but Aitken was able to hold off the challenge. Aitken won the race by 0.33 seconds, about one car length. Aitken collected $400 for first place, Wilcox received $300 for second, Chevrolet $200 for third, and Hughes $100 for fourth.
| Finish | Start | No. | Driver | Car | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 4 | 1 | Johnny Aitken | Peugeot | 8 | 12:37.35 |
| 2 | 8 | 5 | Howdy Wilcox | Premier | 8 | +0.33 |
| 3 | 1 | x |  Louis Chevrolet | Sunbeam | 8 | +34.65 |
| 4 | 10 | 19 | Hughie Hughes | Hoskins Special | 8 | +58.65 |
| 5 | 6 | 6 | Dave Lewis | Premier | 8 | +1:26.50 |
| 6 | 5 | 18 | Ralph DePalma | Peugeot | 8 | +1:27.27 |
| 7 | 7 | 14 | George Buzane | Duesenberg | 8 | +1:33.99 |
| 8 | 2 | 17 | Jay McNey | Ostewig Special | 8 | +3:14.83 |
| 9 | 9 | 9 | Pete Henderson | Maxwell | 0 | Out |
| 10 | 3 | x | Art Klein | Kleinart | 0 | Out |
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50 mile race
Two cars, Ralph DePalma and Art Klein, dropped out after 7 laps with dirty spark plugs. Klein was finished for the day, but DePalma would get his car ready for the 100-mile later in the afternoon.
Hughie Hughes became the story of the race, fiercely battling Aitken for the race lead. On lap 15, Hughes briefly took the lead, but on the backstretch Aitken was able to get back ahead. On the final lap, Hughes battled with Aitken for the win. Down the mainstretch, Aitken held off Hughes by 0.28 seconds at the finish line. The margin of victory was about four feet.
Winning his second race of the day, Aitken pocketed $700 for first place. Hughes won $500 for second. Louis Chevrolet, less than a second behind the first two cars, won $400 for third. Wilbur D'Alene received $300 for fourth, and Dave Lewis $100 for fifth.
| Finish | No. | Driver | Car | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | Johnny Aitken | Peugeot | 20 | 32:40.33 |
| 2 | 19 | Hughie Hughes | Hoskins Special | 20 | +0.28 |
| 3 | x | Louis Chevrolet | Sunbeam | 20 | +0.77 |
| 4 | 8 | Wilbur D'Alene | Duesenberg | 20 | +45.52 |
| 5 | 6 | Dave Lewis | Premier | 20 | +1:25.13 |
| 6 | 5 | Howdy Wilcox | Premier | 20 | +2:44.56 |
| 7 | 14 | George Buzane | Duesenberg | 20 | +2:52.54 |
| 8 | 18 | Ralph DePalma | Peugeot | 7 | Dirty plugs |
| 9 | x | Art Klein | Kleinart | 7 | Dirty plugs |
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100 mile race
Johnny Aitken picked up where he left off in the first two races, and took the lead on the first lap. He held the lead for the first 23 laps. Eddie Rickenbacker, who sat out the first two races, started deeper in the field, but was running second as quickly as lap 4. Aitken and Rickenbacker ran 1st-2nd for the first 50 miles, with Aitken never pulling more than 100 feet out in front. Rickenbacker stayed within a second of the lead on the scoring serials until he took the lead on lap 24.
Tommy Milton, who also skipped the first two races of the day, dropped out on lap 8 with ignition trouble. Howdy Wilcox later quit after completing only 8 laps. Rickenbacker's lead was short-lived, as Aitken was back in front on lap 25. With Aitken and Rickenbacker battling at the front of the field, another close battle was going on for third and fourth. Hughie Hughes and Wilbur D'Alene were running close together for much of the race. Dave Lewis, running 5th much of the day, was holding off George Buzane for the first half. Buzane moved into 5th by the 28th lap.
Ralph DePalma, Pete Henderson, Omar Toft traded 7th, 8th, and 9th place between one another most of the race. None of the three were factors in the race, and each were running at least a lap down at the checkered flag. With Wilcox and Milton out, Jay McNey was the last car running in the field, He would be flagged after completing 38 of the 40 laps.
The final ten laps came down to a battle of survival between Johnny Aitken and Eddie Rickenbacker. On lap 33, Rickenbacker took the lead, then Aitken led laps 34–35. On lap 36, the steering arm on the right wheel of Aitken's car broke, rendering his car almost undriveable. Rickenbacker assumed the lead. As Aitken slowed, quickly Rickenbacker was out to nearly a half-lap lead. But with two laps to go, the right rear wheel on Ricknenbacker's car was wobbling badly. Coming out of turn four, the wheel collapsed, sending the car out of control. The car careened back and forth, and came to rest on the inside of the track. Rickenbacker and his riding mechanic George Henderson were narrowly avoided by four other cars, but emerged uninjured.
Over the final few laps, with Rickenbacker now out, the race between DePalma, Henderson, and Toft became a battle to see who would finish in the money. DePalma fell from 7th to 9th over the final eight laps, while Toft moved up from 9th to 7th. With four laps to go, Toft led Henderson by only 1.22 seconds. All three cars moved up one spot when they completed more laps than Rickenbacker, and Toft beat Henderson to the line to finish 6th by 2.65 seconds. DePalma finished 8th, 29.17 seconds behind Henderson, and out of the money in all three races for the day.
Aitken took the lead for good when Rickenbacker crashed out. He nursed his car around the final three laps with only one wheel attached to the steering linkage. Despite the cripled machine, he crossed the line 19 seconds ahead of second place Hughie Hughes. Aitken, accompanied by riding mechanic Maurice Becker, swept all three races for the day.
won all three races at the Harvest Auto Racing Classic.
| Finish | No. | Driver | Car | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | Johnny Aitken | Peugeot | 40 | 1:07:05.04 |
| 2 | 19 | Hughie Hughes | Hoskins Special | 40 | +19.92 |
| 3 | 8 | Wilbur D'Alene | Duesenberg | 40 | +38.69 |
| 4 | 14 | George Buzane | Duesenberg | 40 | +1:32.62 |
| 5 | 6 | Dave Lewis | Premier | 40 | +2:02.26 |
| 6 | 22 | Omar Toft | Omar | 40 | +5:35.76 |
| 7 | 9 | Pete Henderson | Maxwell | 40 | +5:38.41 |
| 8 | 18 | Ralph DePalma | Peugeot | 40 | +7:07.58 |
| 9 | 10 | Eddie Rickenbacker | Maxwell | 38 | Crash turn 4 |
| 10 | 17 | Jay McNey | Ostewig | 36 | Flagged |
| 11 | 7 | Tommy Milton | Ostewig | 8 | Ignition |
| 12 | 5 | Howdy Wilcox | Premier | 8 | Withdrew |
| 13 | x | Charles Devlin | Kleinart | 0 | Mechanical |
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Final statistics and legacy
On March 23, 1917, Speedway management cancelled the 1917 Indianapolis 500, and halted all racing at the facility during both 1917 and 1918. The track was offered as a landing strip and maintenance/refueling station for military aircraft traveling between Wilbur Wright Field and Chanute Air Force Base. It was referred to as the Speedway Aviation Repair Depot, and the 821st Aero Repair Squadron was stationed there.
The AAA National Championship was suspended in both 1917 and 1918. There were, however, AAA races conducted during the war years at other tracks. The Indianapolis 500 resumed after the war in 1919, but the Harvest Auto Racing Classic was not held again.
Revival
During the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, the Brickyard 400 was scheduled for the weekend where the Harvest Auto Racing Classic was conducted. Each of the two September editions of the Brickyard included an Xfinity and Cup Series race each, and a dirt track race, the Bryan Clauson Classic. All four races were moved to July in 2020.On April 6, 2020, the IndyCar Series announced that as part of revisions to the 2020 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would add a third race at IMS to the schedule known as the IndyCar Harvest GP, as a road course race. Originally scheduled for a single race October 3, due to continuing cancellations of other events on the schedule, it was changed to a doubleheader, with races run on October 2 and October 3. Its naming pays tribute to the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, and the race will serve as a support event for the inaugural Indianapolis 8 Hour on the Intercontinental GT Challenge circuit. It will be the second road course race at IMS for the 2020 season, accompanying the GMR Grand Prix. Because the NTT IndyCar Series will race on the Intercontinental GT Challenge schedule, the course layout has yet to be determined there are five different road course configurations -- full Grand Prix course without the Snake Pit, or with it, INDYCAR GP course with and without the Snake Pit, and Motorcycle configuration
Works cited
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- Dill, Mark; "A Forgotten Classic;" 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Official Program; Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 2006.
- Scott, D. Bruce; INDY: Racing Before the 500; Indiana Reflections; 2005;.
- Galpin, Darren; A Record of Motorsport Racing Before World War I.