Thursday, July 31, 2008

Ralph DePalma -- July 31, 2008


Ralph DePalma, an Italian-American driver who went on to win the 1916 Indianapolis 500, at the wheel of his car in a 1912 race near Chicago. His riding mechanic is Tom Alley. I like the ergonomic positioning of the levers. I suppose the spare tires indicate that this is a road rather than a track race.
The photo comes from the Library of Congress' wonderful American Memory site (http://memory.loc.gov/). SDN-057946, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society.

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