There were three automobile race events held in 1910.
One was held on Memorial Day weekend (called Decoration
Day back then). One was held over Independence Day
weekend and one over Labor Day weekend.
1909-1910 Race Information
These racing fests included as many as 42 races on the Speedway's 2.5-mile ribbon of bricks.
Thomas Kincade was a promising young driver on Arthur
C. Newby's National Motor Vehicle Company race team.
He was killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 6,
1910 while testing his racer. The car crashed through the
wood plank fence on the Speedway's backstretch. Kincaid
was thrown from the car and landed between it and the
fence.
Kincade was the junior teammate to National's star, Johnny
Aitken. Even so, Kincade won several races at the
Speedway during its pre-Indy 500 years. Together, they
racked up nine first places, ten second places and nine third
places.
Kincade won the 100-mile Presto-Lite-Trophy feature on
May 27, 1910 in his blue National "Forty". He averaged 71
mph. His team-mate Johnny Aitken finished 2nd.
He gave the crowd a thrill with a sensational bit of driving
early in the race. He was coming down the front straight
traveling at over 80 mph, when the tread of the big
pneumatic right rear tire flew high in the air, followed a
second later by the explosion of the tube. The tire first hit
Kincade, stunning his arm for a minute. His young riding
mechanic Don Herr grabbed the wheel to help Kincade.
The car was nearing the wire immediately in front of the
grandstand and lunged wildly to right and left. Kincade
grasped the wheel desperately and with sheer muscular
force, he held the big car to the course. A roar of applause
greeted the National driver when the blue car was
straightened out, stopped and backed rapidly to the pit
where the outer rear wheel was replaced.
He also impressed the crowd during a 5-mile race when he
came from behind in the stretch and by a clever exhibition
of skillful driving, passed through the entire broken field of
flying cars and rushed to victory.
He also won a major event, the 200-mile Atlanta Automobile
Association Trophy in October 1909.
Kincade was 23 years old, single and was born in Madison
County Indiana.
He was buried at Kinnaman cemetery in Hamilton County,
just north of Indianapolis.
Tom Kincade's Wrecked blue National racer
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