IMS Brickyard Before The Bricks

 

The start of the Wheeler Schebler Trophy race on August 21, 1909 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway [colorized]. This was on  the final day of racing during the first auto meet at the now historic track. The image shows National Motor Vehicle Company driver Johnny Aitken (#8) at his inside front row starting position with Bert Miller of Stoddard-Dayton (#17) beside him.This image was originally published in the August 22, 1909 Indianapolis Star - Colorized by Edmund Jenks via GEMINI (2026).

IMS Brickyard Before The Bricks

On August 19, 1909, the very first automobile races ever held at what would become the Indianapolis Motor Speedway claimed lives before the day was out. Roughly 12,000 spectators gathered to watch Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer claim a five-mile dash at an average of 57.4 mph on the brand-new 2.5-mile oval. The surface - crushed rock packed with tar - began to disintegrate almost at once, flinging stones into the air and carving deep ruts that grew worse with every lap.

The Remy Grand Brassard race was one of the top contests held on the final day of racing during the first auto meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This race featured prizes of a unique silver arm band and a weekly salary of $75 until the next competition for the award could be presented. The incomparable Barney Oldfield, in his Benz, dominated the event from start to finish. These races were conducted on Saturday, August 21, 1909. This image was originally published in the August 22, 1909 Indianapolis Star - Colorized by Edmund Jenks via GEMINI (2026). 

The three-day meet, contested on that crumbling track, turned deadly. Two drivers, two riding mechanics, and two spectators were lost. Coverage in the August 22 Indianapolis Star captured the chaos: veteran Herb Lytle’s Apperson Jack Rabbit spun in the first turn of the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, his riding mechanic thrown clear before the car was dug free and returned to the race far down. Barney Oldfield, in his Benz, dominated the Remy Grand Brassard from the start, rewriting distance marks while the surface continued to fail beneath the field. Bruce Keene’s Marmon No. 17 struck a bridge abutment; his mechanic, James Schiller, was thrown clear with a scalp wound.

The worst moment came in the final contest of the meet, the Wheeler-Schebler Trophy, called short after 235 of a scheduled 300 miles. Charlie Merz’s National burst a tire, punched through the fencing, and launched into the crowd. Riding mechanic Claude Kellum died of his injuries; spectators James West and Homer Jolliff (also rendered Joliff or Omer Joliffe in reports) were killed where the car came to rest near a muddy creek. Merz himself crawled free unhurt. One of those lost, Homer Jolliff, lies buried in Nineveh.

Enter EDJE Music inspired through a concept of a FB/META posting that had an interesting SI/AI developed image that needed correcting. The cars should have been travelling counter-clockwise on the IMS track and this was just the beginning. After some research, the image was corrected and a song was created because the story of the first year of competitions at IMS were so dangerous and captivating.

Image & Caption Resourcing via First Super Speedway.

Indiana Untold - the host of the inspiration through story and AI imagery - however not quite right - click-image to launch EDJE Music song. Image Credit Edmund Jenks via GEMINI  (2026)

Before the Bricks

LYRICS

*(Verse 1)*  

Carl Fisher bought the farmland in the cold December rain  

Laid out a two-and-a-half-mile oval on the Indiana plain  

Nine degrees of banking, crushed rock packed with tar  

They called it the first super speedway under the August stars  

Balloon men and motorcycles had already scarred the ground  

Then the automobiles came rolling and the rock began to drown  

Louis Schwitzer took the five-mile dash at fifty-seven-four  

While twelve thousand watched the surface start to tear and roar  

*(Chorus)*  

Before the bricks, before the wall  

The track was chewing tires and throwing stones at all  

Two drivers, two mechanics, two in the stands that day  

Died on the crushed-rock oval that was washing clean away  

Before the bricks… before the bricks could save the day  

*(Verse 2)*  

William Bourque and Harry Holcomb never made the turn  

Herb Lytle’s Jack Rabbit spun and the grandstand held its breath and learned  

Barney Oldfield in the Benz was lowering every mark  

While the binder dust burned in their eyes and the ruts grew dark  

Charlie Merz blew a tire in the Wheeler-Schebler fight  

Punched the fence and catapulted into the crowd that night  

Claude Kellum never walked away, James West and Homer fell  

Merz crawled out from under and said, “Tell my folks I’m well”  

*(Chorus)*  

Before the bricks, before the wall  

The track was chewing tires and throwing stones at all  

Two drivers, two mechanics, two in the stands that day  

Died on the crushed-rock oval that was washing clean away  

Before the bricks… before the bricks could save the day  

*(Bridge)*  

They stopped the race at two-thirty-five with Lynch still out in front  

Half an hour later Keene’s Marmon hit the bridge support  

Schiller thrown, the scalp wound bleeding, the surface finally dead  

So they tore the rock and tar away and laid the brick instead  

Three-point-two million Culver Blocks in sixty-three autumn days  

Set in sand and mortar while the cold November haze  

A low concrete wall for the people who’d come to see  

And when the track reopened in December they named it what it’d be  

*(Final Chorus)*  

After the bricks, after the wall  

The Brickyard rose where the crushed rock used to fall  

From the blood on the binder to the roar that still remains  

They paved the first super speedway and it never lost its name  

After the bricks… after the bricks they paved the way  

*(Outro – soft, fading)*  

Before the bricks…  

Just rock and tar and names still carved in stone  

Before the bricks…  

The Brickyard was born.  

ENDS

**Style Prompts:**  

- Americana / folk-rock storytelling ballad, mid-tempo (~85–95 BPM), building to a driving groove.  

- Acoustic guitar and fiddle (or lap steel) in the verses; electric guitar, bass, and restrained drums enter on the choruses.  

- Raw, weathered male vocal with a slightly rough edge (think early Springsteen or modern Americana). Light harmonica or distant trumpet accents for period grit.  

- Mood: somber and tense at first, then resilient and forward-looking. Dust, danger, and the weight of early speed.  

- Alternative lean: blues-rock with a gritty, “broken road” feel, or a cinematic folk-epic with subtle orchestral swells under the final chorus.

MUSIC LINKS:

RUMBLE

https://rumble.com/v7hgu0i-before-the-bricks.html

YouTube

https://youtu.be/6ninDtUNRMQ

REELS
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1803966387417362

.. notes from The EDJE






TAGS: #BeforeTheBricks, #IndianapolisMotorSpeedway, #IMS, #Brickyard, #1909, #AutoRacingHistory, #WheelerScheblerTrophy, #LouisSchwitzer, #BarneyOldfield, #CharlieMerz, #CarlFisher, #FirstSuperSpeedway, #MotorsportsJournal, #TheEDJE

Mick Schumacher’s INDYCAR Test Nets A Strenuous Track Day At Indianapolis

Orientation to a test at IMS Road Course begins in earnest within the Pit Box of Rahal Letterman Lanigan with Mick Schumacher. Image Credit: Joe Skibinski via NICS (2025)

Mick Schumacher’s INDYCAR Test Nets A Strenuous Track Day At Indianapolis  

By Edmund Jenks ... notes from The EDJE

Mick Schumacher climbed into the No. 75 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the sun hung low over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, casting long shadows across the reconfigured IMS road course. This was no sentimental pilgrimage, no passion play steeped in the legacy of his father, Michael Schumacher, who conquered this hallowed ground five times in Formula 1. No, this was a grueling, methodical track day - a full-throttle immersion into the raw, unfiltered demands of NTT INDYCAR Dallara machinery. 

For Mick, a driver with 43 Formula 1 starts and a current World Endurance Championship campaign, this test was a calculated exercise in data collection, not an emotional homecoming.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Monday, October 13, 2025 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Mick Schumacher - FULL Press Conference Above

Transcript With Edmund Jenks (click to launch video - 38.36 start time):

The EDJE: My interest is you're a professional driver. You don't just go out and just do a track day because it's fun. You're seriously considering INDYCAR. Is there anything about the variants of the types of racing that we have, whether it's -- I know you haven't done ovals, but we have short ovals, large ovals, you know, dedicated road courses, as well as street courses. Are there any races out there that interest you, any tracks that interest you, given that you are looking into this NTT INDYCAR SERIES approach?

MICK SCHUMACHER: There are great tracks out there. I think one of the big points, it is one of those places where you will find more old-school racetracks than new ones, and I think everybody kind of understands what I mean with that. I think that aspect is pretty fun.

Also, street circuits are usually very challenging, and they demand a lot from a racing driver. Yeah, I think there's a good mix from racetracks out there at the INDYCAR SERIES.

I don't want to talk too much about ovals. That's why I didn't kind of go there. Yeah, as I said earlier in this meeting, I am considering at some point maybe doing an oval just to see what it's about, whether that's going to be a short, mid, or long oval, I don't know. I didn't know there were those three different lengths to it.

But, yeah, I think, again, the series is a great series. It's a spec series, but still, there is some development you can do from team to team. So, yeah, racing seems fun. We'll see what opportunities it might have for me.

The EDJE: Finally, outside of the Indy 500, are there any specific races that you may have watched on television, and you go, Boy, I could myself in a car on that track? Are there any tracks that call to you?

MICK SCHUMACHER: I don't know how to really answer that, because I did watch a couple of tracks, but it's hard to really kind of feel that way if you haven't driven it.

I definitely am interested in seeing some other tracks out there. Today was good to be here to see this track. It was definitely a fun one. Racing, I'm sure, is a great pleasure here.

But, yeah, there's no real knowledge of mine that would say, okay, that one track is one that I would like to race on, for now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ENDS

Yard Of Bricks crossed as Mick Schumacher plys the same pavements seven-time Formula One World Champion, and father, Michael Schumacher won the United States Grand Prix five times on between 2000-07.Image Credit: Chris Jones via NICS (2025)

Schumacher’s day was a marathon of precision and adaptation. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan crew had a meticulously crafted run plan, and Mick executed it with the focus of a seasoned professional. Lap after lap, he wrestled with the nuances of the INDYCAR beast - its heavier steering, its aggressive tire behavior, its Aeroscreen-induced heat. “It feels very much like an F2 car,” he noted, drawing parallels to his championship-winning days, though the INDYCAR’s raw edge demanded a bolder approach. The Firestone tires, reminiscent of his F3 Hankook days, allowed him to push hard without the delicate conservation required in other series. This was no leisurely drive; it was a relentless pursuit of feedback and performance.

The preparation for this test was as intense as the day itself. Schumacher spent days embedded with the RLL team, poring over details in the workshop and logging hours in the Honda simulator. This wasn’t about soaking in the mystique of Indianapolis but about mastering the car’s quirks before he even turned a wheel. The simulator offered a taste of the INDYCAR’s handling, stripping away surprises and letting Mick focus on extracting data. “It was really important to see how a race weekend would run out,” he said, emphasizing the structured approach that defined the day. Every moment was about building a foundation, not chasing glory.

InstaGram image posted by Mick Schumacher showing the unique Aeroscreen entry into the cockpit of a
Dallara NTT INDYCAR platform. Image Credit: Mick Schumacher (2025)

The track itself was unforgiving, an old-school layout that punished mistakes with a trip into the grass. Schumacher relished the challenge, finding the circuit’s demands a fitting test for his skills. Comparisons to his Formula 1 experience were inevitable, but he dismissed nostalgia in favor of pragmatism. “I was focused on driving, doing my plan,” he said, shrugging off questions about his father’s legacy. The INDYCAR’s rough-and-tumble nature - less clinical than F1, with its spec-series ethos - required a different mindset. Mick adapted, noting the car’s looser rear end and the tactile connection provided by its heavier steering. This was a workout, not a reverie.

Challenges abounded, from decoding the team’s lingo - “stickers” for new tires left him briefly puzzled - to adjusting to the Aeroscreen’s stifling airflow. Yet Schumacher took it in stride, his focus unwavering. The physicality of the car, often hyped as a beast by other drivers, proved less daunting than expected. “I didn’t think it was that heavy,” he admitted, finding the steering’s feedback a source of connection rather than strain. The test wasn’t about heroics; it was about understanding the machine and its limits, a task Mick attacked with clinical efficiency.

For all the sweat and focus, the day wasn’t without its sparks of enjoyment. Schumacher’s love for open-wheel racing shone through, a nod to his father’s adage about Schumachers being fastest when they can see their wheels. The INDYCAR’s single-seater DNA appealed to him, its 17-race calendar a tantalizing prospect for a driver who thrives on competition. Yet he remained guarded about his future, weighing INDYCAR against other options for 2026. “It’s about me trying to figure out what I want to do,” he said, his decision-making process as deliberate as his laps. An oval test looms as a potential next step, but for now, Mick is content to analyze and reflect.

In the end, this was no romantic ode to racing’s past but a hard-fought day of work. Schumacher’s test was a masterclass in discipline, a driver fully immersed in the task at hand. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with its storied history, served as a backdrop, not a shrine. For Mick, the allure of INDYCAR lies in its driver-centric ethos, where talent behind the wheel still reigns supreme. As he packed up after a long debrief, the data gathered and lessons learned were the true trophies of the day - a strenuous track day, executed with purpose.

... notes from The EDJE

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