How Mercedes powered Hitler’s motorsport arms race
In the build-up to the 1934 German Grand Prix, the already formidable Nürburgring was transformed. Gone were the days of packing a race track with nothing but enthusiasts; under the control of new chancellor Adolf Hitler, motorsport was the ideal venue in which to display the might of his new, robust Germany under the Third Reich.Track facilities were draped in swastika flags, while a regiment of brownshirts had marched for weeks from Berlin to be present at the July event. Over 150,000 spectators had descended on the rural track, keen to lay eyes on the new German racing machines that promised to be unstoppable — The Mercedes W25, and the Auto Union P-Wagen. Marvels of automotive innovation, these Grand Prix cars were heavily funded by the German government and looked set to dominate the European racing scene in just the same way that Hitler was hoping to dominate the entire continent: Resoundingly, quickly, and packed with pageantry designed to inspire a nationalistic zeal.This month on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're digging deep into Nazi participation in Grand Prix racing with a two-part series, with each episode focusing on one of the two state-funded automotive programs. We'll be starting off with Mercedes, then dig deeper into the exploits of Auto Union in the next show with an eye to understanding the complex and often uncomfortable role that motorsport played in the revitalization of the German military after the country was devastated by the First World War. Over the next two episodes, we'll trace the origins of the automobile in Germany and investigate the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on both industry and national image in order to link Hitler's ascension to power with his emphasis on revitalizing the automotive and motorsport industries. Naturally, we're going to begin with a titan: Mercedes.To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoysSubscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/ Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.socialFollow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoysFollow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_podWatch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.socialFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstockOrder Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energyEpisode Bibliography: Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best by Neal BascombA Race with Love and Death: The Story of Britain's First Great Grand Prix Driver, Richard Seaman by Richard WilliamsGrand Prix Driver by Hermann Lang
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Race of Two Worlds: IndyCar vs. Formula 1 on Monza's Oval Track
In the late 1950s, the folks in charge of The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza had to face a harsh reality: They had spent millions to revitalize the banked oval that had been an original feature of the track back in the 1920s, but that had been destroyed prior to World War II. They had thought the Italian Grand Prix would be made all the more compelling with a flat-out banked section to challenge the drivers.But Grand Prix cars weren't built to withstand the high speeds and g forces of oval racing, and the European drivers hated the addition. Hoping to get the most out of its investment, Monza called upon the only drivers that did know how to race an oval: The Americans.What resulted was the Race of Two Worlds — an exhibition event with a huge prize purse designed to pit the Americans against the Europeans in a friendly competition that soon got feisty. This week on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're exploring the long-term implications of this event, and how it very well may have contributed to the ongoing ill will between two very distinct forms of motorsport.To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoysSubscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/ Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.socialFollow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoysFollow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_podWatch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.socialFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstockOrder Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energyEpisode Bibliography: Cars at Speed: The Grand Prix Circuit by Robert DaleyMonza: A Glorious History by Paolo Montagnahttps://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1955/22/26th-gran-premio-ditala/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1957/31/the-monza-500-mile-race-2/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1958/15/the-monza-500-mile-race/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1958/36/another-monza-500-miles/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/f1-vs-indycar-monzanapolis/
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Camille du Gast: France's extraordinary first woman racer
Camille du Gast wasn't the first woman to get behind the wheel of a race car, but she was the first woman who gained international recognition for doing so when she began taking part in grand epreuves as early as 1901. She was the first woman in France to earn a driver's license, the first woman to hold an official role in the Automobile Club de France.But to call Camille du Gast a racer and nothing else would be to diminish a lifetime of accomplishments. She donned the title of exploratrice, traveling the world while also competing in motor boat racing, fencing, skiing, tobogganing, fencing, and hot air ballooning. She was the controversial subject of a pornographic scandal, and the intended target of a failed murder plot hatched by none other than her only daughter. And while that might have been enough to push a person into hiding for the remainder of her life, Camille du Gast wouldn't be silenced. Instead, she became a prominent activist campaigning for the rights and dignified treatment of both women and animals. This week on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're delving deeper into the remarkable life of Camille du Gast and situating her turn-of-the-century accomplishments within the greater context of women in motorsport.To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoysSubscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/ Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.socialFollow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoysFollow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_podWatch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.socialFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstockOrder Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energyEpisode Bibliography: Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris — The Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St. ClairCars at Speed: The Grand Prix Circuit by Robert Daleyhttps://www.beaulieu.co.uk/news/women-in-motorsport-social-history-camille-du-gast/https://guides.loc.gov/feminism-french-women-history/famous/camille-du-gasthttps://web.archive.org/web/20150608201218/http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/racing/wiwc/bios/pioneers/CamilleDuGast.pdfhttps://www.vintag.es/2023/05/camille-du-gast.htmlhttps://blog.imagesmusicales.be/camille-du-gast-the-valkyrie-of-motorsports/https://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/01/camille-du-gast.html https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjd61.7?seq=12 https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-fascinating-and-surprising-history?r=3mpdgy&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true https://gettingaround.substack.com/p/dufayel-paris-had-the-most-beautiful-staircase https://www.newspapers.com/image/80620267/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.newspapers.com/image/41522580/?match=1&terms=%22Camille%20du%20gast%22&_gl=1%2akg4h9y%2a_up%2aMQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAqrG9BhAVEiwAaPu5zinarN6sTwRXIAG8BQ7n5kyw7AKyBsnsc1bFahJmRyS6Uh9Oub71ohoCHcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-paris-berlin-motor-carriage-rac/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19020920.2.64.36https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721163https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68721181
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Did Ray Harroun REALLY win the first Indianapolis 500?
If you're a fan of the Indianapolis 500, then there's a good chance you know who won the first race back in 1911: It was Ray Harroun behind the wheel of a Marmon Wasp, the only driver in the field to opt against using a riding mechanic and running solo — albeit with a little help from a relief driver.What if I told you that might not be true? What if I told you that we don't actually know with 100% certainty who won the inaugural Indy 500?Today on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to continue our discussion from last week concerning the founding of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the chaotic first races held at the track in its first three years of existence. This week, it's all about the inaugural Indy 500 — and about trying to track down who it was that really won the first edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoysSubscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/ Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.socialFollow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoysFollow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_podWatch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.socialFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstockOrder Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energyEpisode Bibliography: Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and the Birth of the Indy 500 by Charles Leerhsenhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-hundred-years-of-the-indy-500-158836397/https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/expert-sets/105790/#:~:text=The%20first%20Indianapolis%20500%2DMile,Indy%20500%20from%20the%20grandstand.
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway's tragic inaugural races
On August 21st, 1909, the 300-mile Wheeler-Schebler race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was waved off — not because that weekend's racing had claimed the lives of five drivers, mechanics, and spectators, but because, after the racing had continued, yet another car crashed into a pedestrian bridge crossing the racing surface.No one was killed in that crash. No; the real reason the race was being flagged was because so many spectators had flocked to the pedestrian bridge to gape at the wreckage that the whole structure was sagging. That, finally, gave Speedway personnel a reason to call things off.In the days that followed, newspapers erupted with condemnations about auto racing — but before we can really understand the outcry and its impact on the motorsport scene in America, we need to understand more about the man who concocted the audacious scheme to build a 2.5-mile race track in Indiana within the first decade of the 20th century.Today on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to delve into the life of Speedway founder and confidence man Carl Fisher, and how his harebrained marketing schemes brought to life a track that still hosts one of the world's greatest motorsport events. Over the next two episodes, we're looking at the early history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and how, against all odds, it became an American institution.To find out more about Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys: https://linktr.ee/deadlypassionsterriblejoys Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deadlypassionsterriblejoysSubscribe on Substack: https://deadlypassionsterriblejoys.substack.com/ Follow DPTJ on BlueSky: @deadlypassions-pod.bsky.socialFollow DPTJ on Instagram: @deadlypassionsterriblejoysFollow DPTJ on Twitter/X: @terriblejoy_podWatch on YouTube: @eliz_blackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on BlueSky: @elizablackstock.bsky.socialFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Instagram: @elizablackstockFollow Elizabeth Blackstock on Twitter/X: @eliz_blackstockOrder Racing with Rich Energy: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energyEpisode Bibliography: Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and the Indy 500 by Charles Leerhsenhttps://web.archive.org/web/20120920022310/http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/library-and-archives/notable-hoosiers/carl-fisher https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles/prest-o-lite
From race fixing attempts to kidnappings, the backbone of motorsport is built on scandal, intrigue, danger, and deception.
Rev your engines and dive into the heart-pounding world of motorsport with Elizabeth Blackstock's captivating new podcast, Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys. Join us on an adrenaline-fueled journey through the scandalous, the intriguing, and the perilous tales that define this high-octane universe.
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