Heat, Dust, Fire, Fists, and Speed

The Hobart Speedway's event of July 3, 1921, organized by the Gary Auto Racing Association, was described as a "free for all" — meaning that any driver, from anywhere, could participate who paid the $20 entry fee.

Among the entrants was a 27-year-old Hammond resident, Emil Huff, who owned an auto repair shop; a racer of at least four years' experience, he seemed to be something of a local celebrity. Riding beside him in a remodeled Essex roadster (maybe something like these) would be Earl Nussear, his mechanic, who, the previous year, had been "pit man" to the famous Gaston Chevrolet.

A Chicago driver, Eston "Bill" Winston, would be driving a Ford. Other out-of-towners came from East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Gary, and Whiting, including Bill Harris, driving the "Red Devil," and Bill Vogt, piloting the "White Streak," also known as the "Million Dollar Ford."

"The track has been chemically treated to eliminate dust," the Gazette promised. But as the racers and the spectators — about 2,000 of them — gathered on Sunday, July 3, the temperature reached 98 degrees and the sun beat down pitilessly. The dirt track and the vegetation around it baked to dryness, with predictable results.

The Gary Evening Post gave the most complete account of that exciting and miserable day:


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By sheer luck I have acquired a series of eight photographs that I believe show the July 3, 1921 race (since the details in the handwritten captions match up to that unusual race). They were taken by Willis J. Imes, an 18-year-old letter carrier from Hammond.*


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*I have a whole album of his photographs, dating generally to the 1920s, most of them with captions, but since only the eight above relate to Hobart and none to Ainsworth, I don't know if I can ever come up with an excuse for including them in the blog.


Sources:
♦ 1920 Census.
♦ 1930 Census.
♦ "3 Spills, One In Hospital, Fire, Fist Fight, At Hobart Speedway." Gary Evening Post 5 July 1921.
♦ "Auto Races Here July 3rd." Hobart Gazette 1 July 1921.
♦ "Bad Spill in Hobart Auto Races." Lake County Times (Hammond, Ind.) 5 July 1921.
♦ "Hobart Was a Very Quiet and a Very Warm Place Over the 4th." Hobart News 7 July 1921.
♦ "Lake County Racers Tune Up Machines for Hobart." Gary Evening Post 1 July 1921.
♦ "Race Fans Receive Several Thrills at Speedway, Sunday." Hobart News 7 July 1921.
♦ Smith's Directory of Hammond, Ind. and West Hammond, Ill. for 1921-1922. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
♦ "Two Hurt at Auto Races." Hobart Gazette 8 July 1921.