A 1929 Indianapolis 500 1st Place Trophy given to Ray Keech,

Collectors' Motorcars and Automobilia Auction|7 October 2019, 11:00 EDT|Philadelphia, Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum

A 1929 Indianapolis 500 1st Place Trophy given to Ray Keech,

unsigned, featuring a man and a woman standing atop a globe with laurels in hand sharing a single blowing frock, 18in high, mounted atop a hallow metal base with an inscription ring showing Keech's Piston Ring Special and the title of the trophy. The base of the globe show damage and later repairs to the interior mounting bracket.

Footnotes

Ray Keech began his career on board tracks before quickly rising to international fame when bested Malcolm Campbell and set a new world land speed record of 207.552mph in April of 1928 at the wheel of the triple Liberty V16-powered White Triplex Special "Spirit of Elkdom". His success on the straight line sands of Daytona Beach helped him score a seat at the 1928 Indy 500, where he placed 4th.

Achieving numerous strong finishes throughout the '28, Keech returned to Indy in 1929 in the Simplex Piston Ring Special. After placing 6th in qualify and following Louis Meyer for much of the race, he would eventually take the lead and beat Meyer by more than six minutes.

Keech's star would shine brightly only briefly, however, as he would perish 16 days after his big win at Brickyard in an accident at the Altoona 200 Mile race in Tipton, Pennsylvania on June 15, 1929.

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