I want to give a huge recommendation to Charles Leerhsen's 2012 book "Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem and the Birth of the Indy 500." Even though the book was released in print in 2012, it was just made available as an audiobook earlier this month. For collectors of the T36 set, this book is a treasure trove when it comes to learning about the drivers included in that set.
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Smoke-M...s=books&sr=1-1
I am only about 1/4 of the way through listening to the audiobook (and have not even reached the start of the first Indy 500), and I have already learned tons of interesting stories about numerous T36 drivers. For example:
* Barney Oldfield, unquestionably the biggest star of auto racing's early days, rationalized that the frightful dangers of 1910s racing sure beat the alternative:
"I would rather be dead than dead broke," Oldfield was fond of saying.
* "Smiling George" Robertson was known to motivate his pit crew to work faster by getting out of his car and hitting them with wrenches during lengthy pit stops. Robertson was also alleged to have thrown wrenches out of his car at drivers attempting to pass him. Robertson admitted to the first charge, but vehemently denied the second accusation. To make his point, Robertson picked up a bucket of bolts and explained:
"This is what I use," said Robertson. "They are cheaper and work just as good. I might need the wrench for something else."
True to his nickname, Robertson is shown sporting a huge smile on his T36 card.
* French driver Victor Hemery was known as "The Surly One" due to his less than pleasant personality.
* David Bruce-Brown was an heir to the Lorillard's tobacco fortune. For card collectors, Lorillard's is known for their 1887 set of boxing cards.
* Italian born Ralph DePalma was almost always stereotyped in newspapers with Italian tropes of the day. For example, newspapers often wrote that DePalma preferred beating Oldfield on the track even above eating five plates of spaghetti.
* Lewis Strang, who was the nephew of fellow T36 driver Walter Christie, was killed is a road accident when his car overturned in a ditch at the breakneck speed of five miles per hour as Strang was trying to avoid an oncoming farmer. Strang would frequently carry coins in his pocket so that he could toss the change in the air and make a quick getaway from adoring fans as the crowd scattered to grab the money off the ground.
* The aforementioned Walter Christie's lasting legacy was as a tank designer for the Russian and British armies during World War II. During his racing career, Christie often drove a controversial twin-engine car that allowed the machine to operate in both front- and rear-wheel drive. The unique vehicle was frequently disqualified before a race even began, however, if the promoter actually cared about enforcing the "stock" rules of entries.