Dodge City 300 (1914): Harley-Davidson’s First Factory Race & Early Racing History

The Dodge City 300 was one of the earliest major motorcycle races in the United States, held in 1914 and marking Harley-Davidson’s first factory-backed racing effort. This article covers the inaugural race, the 11-K machines, and how it launched Harley-Davidson’s racing program.

For more vintage Harley-Davidson history, see the History section.

The inaugural Dodge City 300 was held on July 4, 1914 on a 2-mile dirt oval northeast of town. It was an officially sanctioned event of the FAM (Federation of American Motorcyclists), and all the major factory teams were present. These included Indian, Excelsior, Pope, Thor, Flying Merkel, and for the first time Harley-Davidson.
Harley’s last-minute entry into the race came as a surprise since they had maintained that they did not build racing machines. In fact, Harley-Davidson Vice President Arthur Davidson had written several strongly worded articles against racing as late as 1913. Many racers had used Harley-Davidsons, but these were always stock motorcycles without any factory backing. This shift was likely driven by the boost in sales that Indian and Excelsior enjoyed after major race wins. Harley needed race wins to compete with Indian and Excelsior.
Although the entry appeared last-minute, Harley had been preparing for their racing debut for at least a year. Preparation began in 1913 when they hired Bill Ottoway away from Thor. Ottoway was a talented race tuner, and Harley put him to work refining their V-twin motor introduced in 1911. The result was a race-ready model known as the 11-K.

Ottoway tuned twelve 11-K machines for Harley’s five-man team: Walter Cunningham, Paul Garst, Paul God, "Red" Parkhurst, and Alvin Stratton. Stratton, Garst, and Cunningham are pictured below at the start of the race.

By the end of the race, only two Harley riders finished. Harley had a strong showing, tying Glenn Boyd for first at the 120-mile mark, but they couldn’t maintain the pace for the full 300 miles. The win went to Indian and their 8-valve twin, piloted by Glenn Boyd. Second place went to Bill Briar, riding a Thor that had been tuned by Ottoway before he joined Harley-Davidson.

This marked the beginning of Harley-Davidson’s racing program. They returned to win the Dodge City 300 in 1915, then again in 1916, 1920, and 1921, proving it wasn’t a fluke.

For more early Harley-Davidson racing and factory history, see the History section.