When a group of Indianapolis businessmen built a 2 1/2-mile track and decided to stage a 500-mile race in 1911 it was an epic undertaking with a huge purse for the times that drew racers from Europe as well as America. Delage, Peugeot, Ballot and Mercedes cars came to win dollars and inspire America's racing-car builders, Harry Miller and the Duesenberg brothers. Soon these native talents came to dominate the 500-mile race, introducing supercharging and front-wheel drive with great success in the 1920s and 16-cylinder engines in the 1930s.

This new book in the Ludvigsen Library Series covers racers through the 1930s, completing the Series' sweeping panorama of the cars that raced in the ''500'' from 1911 to the end of the 1970s. Many rare photos from the earliest days of Indy bring the cars, engines and personalities of these pioneering years to life. The drama of their achievements made the Indianapolis 500 the world's greatest auto race.