Oldfield, Barney

Oldfield, (Berna Eli) Barney

(1878–1946) auto racer; born in Wauseon, Ohio. One of racing's pioneers, he began as a bicycle racer. He was the first to race a car a mile a minute (1903), while driving Henry Ford's famous "999" racer. A colorful showman who specialized in short "match" races on dirt tracks, he also established a land speed record in 1910 for a one-mile distance at over 131 miles per hour.