Upcoming Auctions

Fresh-to-the Market Indy 500 Memorabilia from Clarence Cagle Estate March 24

March 19, 2012 | view archive

Clarence Cagle wasn’t just another guy at the track.

Ask anyone who grew up in Speedway or around the Indy 500 scene and they’re sure to have a tale to tell about the man who worked for 30 years as Track Superintendent, then Vice President of Speedway Corp.  

He was known to work 20 hour days at the track; he called it his baby.

Taking on the job in 1945, Cagle was faced with the job of resurrecting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the state of disrepair that it suffered through the years of neglect during WWII.  Improvements were desperately needed.   He worked to replace the aging wood frame structure with the modern steel and aluminum stadium that we know so well. 

So enamored of his post was Cagle that he and his wife, Gladys, even lived in a small cottage on the Speedway grounds.

As one of his final projects, Cagle oversaw the building of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, an appropriate tribute for the man who cared so much for the track.  He was inducted into the Indianapolis 500 Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.

We are pleased to offer items from the Clarence Cagle estate in our March 24 Art & Antiques Auction. 

You’ll find 500- related items spanning Cagle’s long career at the track, including pit badges, belt buckles, bolo ties, cuff links, men’s and women’s 500-related jewelry, books, plus a Shriner’s Bell helmet.

But, the centerpiece of the collection is this Indianapolis Motor speedway from the 1909 inaugural race held at the track.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway 1909 Inaugural Race Poster original lithograph printed by Otis Est. $5,000-$7,000

 Browse the auction catalog now.

March Art & Antiques Auction

March 24, 10 AM 

Preview Friday, March 23

2-7 PM

Internet, telephone and absentee bidding options available.