 At just 17, Charlie Merz demonstrated impressive skill as a race driver when he was hired by Arthur C. Newby (one of the future founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) to drive one of his National Motor Vehicle Company stock cars against some of the top competitors in the United States at a race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval on November 4, 1905.Merz led the race over his teammate W.F.