 In 1927 at age 39 Charlie Merz founded Merz Engineering and served as its president until his retirement in 1946.The company, under the leadership of Miklos Sperling, sponsored an Indy 500 team from 1950 to 1955.Merz served as Chief Steward for the Indianapolis 500, the top official of the race, from 1935 through 1939.