1915 Carl Fisher Packard 2-38 Six Runabout

1915 Packard 2-38 Six Runabout

Carl G. Fisher ordered the 1915 Packard Model 38 Runabout in 1914. Fisher is one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1915 Fisher drove the Packard as the pace car at the fifth annual Indianapolis “Indy” 500.

Nancy and Allen Strong purchased the car and have kept it in its protective state, something Fisher himself would have appreciated.

“Fisher never named anything after himself,” Strong marveled. “He created Miami but didn’t name it Fisher City, though later Fisher Island was named after him. Carl could have named the Indy 500 Fisher 500, but he named it after Indiana.”

The Packard was at this year’s Pebble Beach where all classic cars go to show their historical pedigree. The Strongs talked about how Fisher, the Indiana native also used the Packard to survey the Lincoln Highway, the superhighway of its time. For a while, it was owned by American fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker. It changed hands a couple more times but finally ended up in the loving hands of Nancy and Allen Strong, the caretakers of the Packard.

After being stored for over 80 years, the Packard recently returned to the Indianapolis track. To the delight of the audience, the Packard competed at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.