Oldfield races a mile in under a minute

Nov. 20, 1903: Thousands were on hand at the Agricultural Park’s one-mile dirt oval to watch one of the biggest stars in automobile racing make history.

“Barney Oldfield’s attempt to commit suicide ... only resulted in a compound fracture of the world’s automobile record,” The Times said.

The cigar-chewing racer broke a world record by driving a mile in 55 seconds in his Winton Bullet.

“It looked this way: a flash of white shirt down the backstretch, a dark streak on the horizon across the fields, a cloud of dust far up the track, and before you could lean over the rail to see, a rushing mighty wind swashing by under the wire and everybody beginning to shout. That is what it was like to see Barney Oldfield do a mile in .55,” The Times reported.

“Someone who did not see it asked if Barney looked up at the grandstand to see if he were making a hit as he went by. “Suffering snakes!

“If Barney wanted to look at the grandstand, he would have to start looking somewhere at the half-mile post. ... Why, if Barney’s hat should blow off, he could catch it on the next lap before it hit the ground.”