1912 National Speed Car Speedway Roadster

A 7-liter engine propelled these racing machines to numerous wins, one of the three most successful cars of the pre-World War I racing era. A car identical to this, stripped down, was the only stock car model ever to win the Indianapolis 500 race in 1912. That car was driven by Joe Dawson of the US. Its four-cylinder engine displaced 491 cubic inches and carried Dawson to a 7th place starting position, with a qualifying speed of 86.13 mph. It ran a total of 200 laps and led only two, but one of those laps was the most important - the finish. For his accomplishment, he won $20,000 in prize money and propelled the National Motor Vehicle Company into the history books.

He had run in second for most of the race and was finally able to pass the race leader, DePalam, on the main stretch. DePalma had led for 196 laps, the most ever in a race by a non-winner. DePalma and Jeffkins officially scored only 198 laps, but they did push their car to the finish line. Speedway rules stated that all entries must move under their own power. Second place, a full ten minutes behind the first place finisher, was Tetzlaff driving a 9.65-liter Fiat. Third went to Hughie Hughes in a Mercer followed by Charlie Merz in a Stutz.