It’s been awhile since the post about my first pickup from this set. It was one of the ones I really wanted, because he has won the Indianapolis 500. What I’ve learned about the cards from this set is that they don’t come up at auction often. There are some on eBay, but they are “Buy It Now” and overpriced. A couple did come up for auction and this was one of them. I am happy to add it to the collection.
Arthur Duray hadn’t run in the Indianapolis 500 when this set was produced. What he was known for was breaking the land speed record three different time. His only appearance in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was in the 1914 race. He drove the “Baby Peugeot” to a second place finish in his only run in the race.
According to this blog, it was actually a highlight for Peugeot as well.
“The Peugeot’s greatest triumph (though not a victory) was at the 1914 Indianapolis 500. The works Peugeot team had turned up with their 5.65 litre cars but they didn’t cause the biggest surprise. Arthur Duray had been born in New York to Belgium parents and later took French citizenship. He had broken the land speed record three times over 1903 and 1904 and entered a privately owned 3.0 litre Peugeot belonging to the French chocolate family of Jacques Munier. His car was so small compared to the rest of the contestants that it was christened “Baby”.
His critics were silenced when he led the race for 77 of the 200 laps. He eventually settled for a safe and secure second place rather than pushing his car to its limits and risking breakdown. The winning car, a Delage, had an output of 105 hp from an engine twice the size of Duray’s Peugeot. Within a couple of years every successful Indy 500 race car would be powered by an engine carefully copied from the Peugeot.”
I’m thrilled to add this piece of history to my collection. I didn’t even know most of this when I picked up the card. Because I acquired it, I now know things I likely never would have otherwise.
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