Have you heard the often-told story about Carl Fisher, prior to the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, considering French Lick, Indiana as the location for his envisioned speed complex? Little more is said, but the implication that this was a serious consideration and then discarded glosses over some interesting circumstances of the age.
At the heart of that discussion was Tom Taggart, a Democratic Party political powerhouse who was the national chair of the organization from 1904 to 1908. Taggart held numerous political positions, including three terms as mayor of Indianapolis in the 1890's.
Taggart had business interests too, which is more to the point. His most heralded property was the French Lick Resort and filling those rooms with wealthy, influential people was damn good business.
Still, the idea of locating the Speedway there was impractical on several levels. First, the terrain is hilly and presented huge challenges to design and construction, especially with the labor-intensive earth moving technology of the day. Second, the place is remote from any critical mass of auto manufacturers. Indeed, Fisher’s interest in the Speedway was born of the burgeoning homegrown auto industry in the Hoosier Captial, where his first major business, an auto dealership sold a ton of cars. The remote location created the third issue. There was no major population center to draw spectators from.
While Fisher’s primary reason for the facility was to provide a venue for manufacturers to develop their products, there can be no doubt he was excited about promoting spectacles of daring. He loved promotion, and such events were a terrific revenue stream to recover costs.
Now, let’s be clear. All of this was self-evident without detailed analysis. Also clear was that Tom Taggart was a powerful man in Indiana and only fools did not treat him with respect. Carl Fisher was no fool. He invested the time for a trip to French Lick and at the very least give thoughtful consideration to the proposal Taggart almost certainly pushed. At the very least, Fisher showed Taggart consideration and demonstrated he took him seriously.
Taggart also held an ownership position in the glorious Denison Hotel in Indianapolis. Time and again in these early days you see the Denison playing a big role in supporting Speedway events as the hotel of choice for rooms, banquets, and conference rooms. Also, Fisher supported reliability runs from Indianapolis to French Lick where overnight stays for the participants were inevitably at Taggart’s amazingly beautiful resort.
Bottom line, we believe the whole French Lick story is overblown as a serious consideration and simultaneously under told for its circumstances of the powerful men involved. Fisher knew the nuance of demonstrating respect to an important figure in the upper echelons of Hoosier influence. He navigated that delicate path to preserve an important relationship without wrecking his business.
