The Chevrolet Brothers

The Chevrolet brothers were Louis, Arthur, and Gaston.

Louis Chevrolet, born in Switzerland, won the very first Championship Car race ever. It was contest at Morris Park, which was a dirt track in New York. Louis was driving a Fiat, which was a car from Italy. He won two more times that season, all in Fiats and driving on dirt tracks. Barney Oldfield won the championship, and Chevrolet was the runner up.

Louis won three races in 1909, one in 1916, four times in 1917, three times in 1918, and his final two wins came in 1919 on the board track at Tacoma, Washington. His final Indianapolis 500 as a driver came in 1920, but broke down before the half way mark. His brother Gaston rode with him at his win on Labor Day 1917 on the board track in Chicago, Illinois.

Louis was a relief driver for his brother Arthur in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, but the car retired before he could get in the race. Later in the year, Louis and General Motors founder William Durant founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Louis designed the cars and engines. Chevrolet sold his shares in 1915 after a falling out with the other owners. Louis was reckless, and was called “the most audacious driver in the world.” In 1906 Louis helped to build and drive a car to a Land Speed Record of 119 mph. He was a mechanical genius who worked for numerous automakers. Arthur, born in Switzerland, was the chauffer/mechanic for William Durant of Buick, probably because he wasn’t as reckless as his brothers.