The Birth of Speed, Part II: The Carnival

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Part II: The Carnival of Speed

In March of 1903, James F. Hathaway and his Stanley Steamer returned to the endless stretches of sand outside of the Ormond Hotel, the inspiration for his visions of speed the year before. William J. Morgan, the magazine man to whom Hathaway had proclaimed the Ormond’s potential organized the first event in 1903 with help from the managers of the Ormond Hotel, John Anderson and Joseph Price. The group was joined by two pioneer automobile racers, Alexander Winton with his “Bullet #1,” and H.T. Thomas, the Olds Motor Works factory man who was running their machine dubbed “The Pirate.” In addition, the motorists were also accompanied by a young Swedish immigrant, a former bicycle racer who’s knack for tinkering and infatuation with speed was rocketing him to the top of the newly forming motorcycle industry, Indian’s Oscar Hedstrom. 

In late March of 1903 the wealthy aficionados dazzled a crowd of around 3,000 with their daring grit and the rawness of their machines. Winton, Thomas, and Hedstrom each successfully lowered the standing records of the day, despite the somewhat windy conditions. With no specific motorcycle events Hedstrom gave everyone a great show as he bested the automobile men with his lightweight 3HP motorcycle, lowering the one-mile record down to just a shade over 1 minute, 3 seconds. The inaugural event was a success, and in the days, weeks, and months that followed the promoters and local citizens united to form the Florida East Coast Automobile Association, and in doing so initiated plans for an annual Carnival of Speed.

1904 proved to be a big year for Daytona, Ormond Beach, and the returning Carnival of Speed. The event was now gaining international appeal and the area’s infrastructure was expanded to accommodate. The addition of a staging area and machine shop was a welcome project completed in 1904 and the Ormond Garage became the gathering point for gear heads the world over. A clubhouse was also built by the ECAA at the Silver Beach access, on the southern end bordering Daytona and from 1904 on it would serve as the starting line for the festivities. 

As far as the autos were concerned, William K. Vanderbilt Jr. was the toast of the event, collecting all of the records and trophies available with his 90HP Mercedes, losing only the AAA one-mile event to Barney Oldfield after missing a shift. The great-grandson of the “Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, young Willie K's achievements also included the first world land speed record set in America (though not officially recognized) running a flying mile in 39 seconds, a speed of 92.3 mph. The story goes, that an envious Henry Ford attended as a spectator and was so impressed by Vanderbilt’s performance that he immediately sent for his 999 car, though it did not arrive in time. The success and publicity surrounding Vanderbilt’s performance helped him to create America’s first major trophy race just a few months later, the Vanderbilt Cup.

1904 also saw the return of Indian’s Oscar Hedstrom, who had reconfigured the cutdown “Typhoon" pacing machine he had run the year before and fitted it with two of his retooled DeDion-Buton engines. An odd machine indeed, Hedstrom joined two separate engines together at the crankpin creating a cumbersome 5HP beast, an early experiment which effectively created the power of a twin cylinder machine. Glenn H. Curtiss also showed up to Ormond with a twin cylinder machine, though his was a more traditional design which had two cylinders sharing a a single bottom end. Known as “Hurcules”, Curtiss' 5HP belt-drive twin demolished the one mile world land speed record in a time of 59 1/5 seconds. Curtiss’ Hercules twin also set the 10-mile record with an average speed of 67.3 mph, a record that would remain for nearly half a decade. The runner up, Hedstrom hit the mile at 1 minute 4 seconds, roughly 56 mph. Local Daytona Indian broker W.W. Austin also had a go on the sand, rocketing his stock 1 3/4HP “camelback” Indian single to a mile in 1 minute 9 1/5 seconds. Unhappy with the performance of his machine Hedstrom discovered that the crankpin which joined his two engines had stripped on that first run, and though he did take a run on a stock machine he returned home to Springfield early. By the end of 1904, possibly motivated by his frustrations with his failed experimental twin’s performance at Ormond, Hedstrom unveiled his first true Indian twin prototype.

Over the next eight years the Carnival of Speed held on Ormond Beach drew thousands of people to witness the greatest names in automotive and motorcycle history push their machines and themselves to the limit. Manufacturers, engineers, racers, and daredevils alike thrived in their quest to be the fastest between the dunes and the breaks at Ormond Beach. Before Brooklands, before Bonneville, and before Indianapolis, America had given birth to the world’s first capital of speed on the eastern shores of sunny Florida.

Pictured is Glenn H. Curtiss and his 5HP, belt-drive twin known as Hercules.

The Birth of Speed, Part I: Ormond Beach, Florida

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Part 1: Ormond Beach

Along with the arrival of personal mechanized locomotion in the final years of the 19th century came a new American lust for speed. The earliest machines, both automobiles and motorcycles alike were cumbersome and demanding, but they were also capable of exhilarating new levels of speed. At as the turn of the century the developing machines were becoming more readily available, but suitable venues in which to stretch them out were not so common.

From coast to coast, American roads had changed little since the country’s founding and were no place for testing any boundaries. Dirt tracks were commonplace, but were built to accommodate animal races and as such were often too small. Around the globe bicycle racing was at the peek of its popularity, but the wooden oval Velodromes on which the cycle races took place were not large enough for even two motorcycles, much less an automobile. But in the right conditions and in the right regions nature provided a solution for man’s latest obsession with speed. Vast tracks of smooth, hard-packed sand stretched out for miles along America’s seaboard, in some places as far as the eye could see, and the velocity-hungry few found a new home.

In America, the birthplace of speed as it is now known today was first established in 1902, when a vacationing auto enthusiast named J.F. Hathaway first publicized the potential that the beach in front of his hotel had for running auto races. The hotel that Hathaway was staying at was named the Ormond Hotel, on the north end of Daytona Beach, Florioda, the location that would soon become host to the fastest men on Earth. It was at the height of the Gilded age, in 1886 that a rail line was completed to the Ormond Beach area, and just two years later in 1888 construction of the luxurious Ormond Hotel was completed. The railway provided easy transportation to the wide stretches of white sands of Ormond, and the Hotel immediately became a favorite among the era’s elite industrial barons, including American auto pioneers like Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and J.D. Rockefeller.

It is said that Hathaway ventured down to the shoreline while vacationing in 1902 to watch a bicycle race. Inspired, he then took his automobile down onto the sand and was delighted by the experience. Hathaway then shared his vision for automobile races with the hotel’s management, took a handful of photographs, and wrote the editor of The Automobile magazine. William J. Morgan, the editor of the Automobile magazine and an early racing promoter packed up and immediately headed to the famous resort on Florida’s east coast to see the “track” for himself. Plans were set and on March 26, 1903, as witnessed by the timing representatives of the American Automobile Association the first official races were made on the sands of Ormond. The years following saw the construction of the Ormond Garage as well as a conceptually expanded carnival of speed. Events too grew to include motorcycles, bicycles, and land speed cars. American auto and motorcycle legends flocked to America’s new capital of speed where new kings earned their crown each year, and America’s shoreline became our first cathedral of speed.

Pictured is a young Carl Oscar Hedstrom, former cycle racer, aspiring engineer, and co-founder of the Hendee Manufaturing Company, makers of the legendary Indian motocycle. At the time that this photo was taken at Ormomd Beach in 1903, Hedstrom and the Hendee Manufacturing Company had turned out less than 150 machines in their first 2 years of production. What we see Hedstrom riding is a unique machine and not one of the production models. It is possibly the very first of many one-off, purebred racing prototypes that Hedstrom would busy himself with over the next decade, tirelessly pursuing top speed. The mind behind Indian’s mechanics constructed this one of a kind motorcycle from components off of one of his three Typhoon tandem pacing machine’s. These tandem pacers, or stayer’s as they were known were the two-man operated lightweight motor bicycles Hedstrom built along with his cycling partner C.S. Henshaw a few years prior. The new lightweight prototype that Hedstrom derived from one of the tandems was powered with the same retooled 3 1/4hp DeDion Buton engine, but was setup for a single rider like Hedstrom’s civilian Indian and modified to allow him to tuck in tight and low for the highest speed. There, between the dunes of Ormond Beach and the Atlantic Ocean Hedstrom shot his little prototype, possibly the first Indian factory racing motorcycle to a top speed of 57mph, setting a new land speed record for the American mile in just 1 minute, 3 seconds.

William Wray, Daytona 1909

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This photo dates back to Daytona’s first decade, when the world’s pioneers of personal propulsion looked to the hard packed sands of Ormond Beach to test their latest creations in hopes of becoming the fastest men on Earth. Here, New York’s William H. Wray Jr. tucks in for a low-tide run at Ormond Beach on March 25, 1909. Wray was in good company at that year’s annual Carnival of Speed as he was joined by fellow New Yorker Eugene Gaestrel on a N.S.U., as well as his friend Oscar Hedstrom, Indian’s head engineer who first visited Ormond to test his machines back in 1903. Hedstrom hadn’t come alone, he loaded up four extremely special prototypes and was joined by three of the Springfield Company’s fastest factory riders, A.G. Chapple, Walter Goerke, and Robert Stubbs, some of the first men to sign professional racing contracts in America. Each of the men in Indian’s talented stable laid down blisteringly fast times on their prototype racing machines, smashing several standing world records in the process. Wray himself had been known to test experimental racing designs dreamt up by his buddy Oscar Hedstrom, but for the 1909 run Wray brought something quite unique. 

As usual automobile, bicycle, and motorcycle classes were organized for the 1909 Carnival of Speed, however a new class had to be added to the motorcycle events for the first time. The “Freak Class,” as it came to be known was created for the two French-powered monsters that exceeded the F.A.M.’s engine displacement limit of 61 cubic inches. William Wray rocketed his 14 horsepower, belt driven Puegeot-Simplex racer to a record 80mph, covering a mile in 44 and 2/5 seconds, but being outside of official regulation his achievement was recorded as nothing more than a remarkable mention. Oscar Hedstrom, most likely through Wray’s connection with Peugeot-Simplex which dated back two years prior had also acquired one of the 14 horsepower French twins in 1907. Hedstrom constructed a special frame to house his Puegeot-Simplex motor and unlike the stock machine Wray was running, Hedstrom opted for a chain drive. Painted blue and with full Indian regalia, the finicky one-off racing machine known today as the Hot Shot was the second machine in the 1909 "Freak Class." Hedstrom himself drove the Hot Shot to a top speed of around 72mph, beating out Wray’s time for the kilometer by 2 seconds. Throughout the weekend Hedstrom and Wray bested one another on their big bore toys, but though both Wray’s factory Peugeot-Simplex and Hedstrom’s special construction Hot Shot boasted twice the horsepower of the stock 7hp Indians ridden by Goerke, Stubbs, and Chapple their times were surprisingly similar. Hedstrom’s fleet of nimble factory twins originally constructed the year before proved their worth yet again and many of their features became standard for civilian production over the next years.

Daytona’s 75th Anniversary is nearly here and along with the expansive variety of two-wheeled events beginning next week on Florida's sunny eastern seaboard comes a perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper into the heritage of America’s first capital of speed. I look forward to discovering and sharing more stories from Daytona’s rich motorcycle history over the next couple of weeks, and if you are among the thousands rolling into the area I will be setting up shop for the second year at the Destination Eustis vintage show at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis, FL so come say hey.

Gene Walker, Daytona 1920

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Eugene Walker, loving known as Gene is one of the South’s most beloved motorcycle racing pioneers. Born in the small town of Plevna, AL, just south of the Tennessee line, Gene grew up in Birmingham after his mother moved the family following the tragic murder of his father just months before his birth. Like many of America’s earliest racing stars, Gene took to motorcycling early in life, climbing on board his first machine around 1910. The story goes that he honed his riding skills as one of Birmingham’s first motorcycle postman, whirling around the city delivering mail in record time no doubt. Despite his later success as a professional racer, Walker also maintained a position on the Birmingham Police Department’s motorcycle squadron throughout his life, a fact that surely inspired hesitance in any would be wrongdoer in the city. 

By 1912 the racing bug had landed upon Gene’s shoulder and being that Birmingham was one of the southern capitals of motorcycle racing, he quickly found his place. That same year Walker captured his first amateur win in the 5-mile event at the Birmingham Fairgrounds, catching the eye of local Indian distributor and one of Indian’s first factory racers Robert Stubbs. Bob as he was known, was a legend in his own right having made his start racing bicycles in the late 1800’s. By 1907 Stubbs was a cornerstone in the motorcycle culture of Birmingham. Stubbs had been racing professionally for Indian since at least 1909 and took young Walker under his wing. With Stubbs' guidance, Walker began dominating the events he ran on board his mentor's Indians, overtaking seasoned pros like Arthur Mitchell, Joe Wolters, and Charlie Balke… he was still an amateur. Walker then turned pro in October of 1914, and in July of 1915 he had officially signed with the factory team at Indian and claimed his first national victory in Saratoga, NY. The war years sent Walker a adrift, first returning home to Birmingham where he worked at a local Harley dealership. During that time he entered local races a privateer onboard Harley’s before returning to Springfield in 1918 to work in the factory and test new prototype machines. When professional racing resumed in America in 1919, Walker with the might of Indian was poised to dominate. Postwar professional motorcycle racing in America was a continuous battle between the now mighty Harley Davidson factory team, Bill Ottoway's legendary "Wrecking Crew” and the burgundy gentlemen of the WigWam, but Walker gave the Milwaukee boys a hard run for their money claiming 6 national wins for Indian in 1919 alone. 

It was in April of 1920 when this photo was taken of Gene onboard his factory 61ci Powerplus Indian near the dunes of Ormond Beach. Walker had been sent to the famous speed coast along with fellow Birmingham racer Herbert McBride to make runs at several land speed records. The Birmingham boys proceeded to then smash 24 national and international speed records. In fact, Walker preformed so well onboard his newly configured side valve machine, with its distinctive finned exhaust ports seen in this photo, that the setup became known as the “Daytona” motor, a legend among American racing machines. Of the records, Walker claimed the first international FICM record at 104.12 mph, and hit 115.79 mph onboard his 61ci 8 valve racer. Following his exemplary showing in Florida, Walker continued to race and win for Indian. In an unfortunate circumstance regarding Walker’s refusal to run at the 1921 Dodge City race due to safety concerns, the brass at Indian released Walker from his contract despite protest from their own racing team. 1922, 1923, and 1924 were tumultuous years for Walker as he bounced between running for Indian and Harley, though victory never seemed too far out of reach regardless of factory politics. Tragically, in the midst of such instability Walker’s racing days came to an end on June 7, 1924 when during practice laps at Stroudburg, PA Walker collided with a tractor that had made its way onto the track under the cover of the dust kicked up. The 31 year old racer later succumbed to his injuries on June 21st, leaving behind his pregnant wife, his two daughters, and a legacy as one of the kindest and fastest the sport has ever known. 

Sidenote: My good friend David Morrill has a wonderful article detailing the life and times of young Gene Walker on his site dlmracing.blogspot.com that encourage everyone to check out.