bobburman

This picture appears to have been taken at Daytona Beach, Florida. Long before Daytona was associated with NASCAR it was the place to go to set land speed records. The hard-packed sand was excellent for this purpose. Actually, most racers started in Ormand Beach and drove toward the pier at Daytona. As speeds increased, it became difficult to negotiate the tight fit under the pier. Eventually those attempting land speed records turned to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Burnam set speed records for the mile (137.83 mph) and the kilometer (138.3 mph) at Daytona on April 22, 1911. At the time, it was the fastest a human had ever traveled.

Please see stumblng.tumblr.com/post/25353354, where I've added a link to a comparative photo.

Thank you both for the information, and yes stumblng.tumblr, this photograph does seem to exhibit the phenomenon of focal plane shutter distortion.

nice!

fabulous photo...reminds me of the fabulous movie "The World's Fastest Indian"!

Bob Burman professional race driver 1909 era

This is great! Reminds me of Alec Baldwin.



flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/2199030247/

What, no protective leather helmet?

More Tobey McGuire than Alec Baldwin.

ahaa.. i love this =)

Wikipedia says that Bob Burman ranked 12th (but did not finish) in the 1912 Indianapolis 500 when his Cutting race car (pictured above) crashed on turn two. Reference: Wikipedia: 1912 Indianapolis 500

Great old picture!

Keep in mind that when that photo was taken the car was the latest in race car design.