Oldfield, "Barney" (Bernd E.)
Auto Racing
b. June 3, 1878, Wauseon, OH
d. Oct. 6, 1946
One of the most colorful figures in auto racing history, Oldfield boxed professionally for a time, then became a bicycle racer in 1895. The first car he ever drove was Henry Ford's new 999 in the 1902 Manufacturer's Challenge Cup race at Grosse Pointe, MI.
Worried about the fate of his car, Ford counseled caution before the start of the race. "I'd rather be dead than broke," Oldfield replied. Driving the car as he'd learned to race bikes, by sliding through turns rather than braking for them, he won the five-mile race in 5 minutes, 28 seconds, a half-mile ahead of his nearest competitor.
Oldfield in 1903 became the first American to drive a mile in a minute. Later that year he lowered the time to 55.8 seconds and was hired by Winton. He drove Winton's Bullet to a win over W. K. Vanderbilt, Henry Ford, and others in the world one-mile straightaway championship in Florida early in 1904 and then began barnstorming in the Peerless auto company's Green Dragon, taking on all comers.
Much of his fame was built on such barnstorming trips with a variety of cars, doing exhibitions or winning races, often fixed, on fairground tracks. He raced in the Indy 500 for the first time in 1914, finishing fifth. He was the only American driver and his car the only American car to place in the top eight. He also finished fifth in the 1916 race.
He retired from competition in 1918, but his name lived on much longer as a synonym for daredevil speed. It also lived on for some years in an advertising slogan: "'Firestone Tires are my only life insurance,' says Barney Oldfield, world's greatest driver."