Racing Hall of Famer Earl Cooper was one of the most formidable racers of his era. Displaying unparalleled versatility, he competed on dirt ovals, superspeedways, road courses and board tracks to win AAA national championships in 1913, 1915 and 1917.
Naturally talented, he blended that with meticulous preparation, cool-headed and an intense focus on only major events to compile his amazing championship runs. For instance, in 1913, he entered eight major road races, won seven, and finished second in the other. 
There’s no better example of this than at Corona, Calif., in 1913. 
The city of Corona had built a three-mile, circular track, intended for horse racing. However, before the horses competed there, they converted it to a paved boulevard. Celebrating the grand thoroughfare’s opening, a 300-mile auto race was staged on it, attracting racing’s biggest names.  
Cooper started preparing a month early. He camped nearby, testing tire and speed combinations daily. Though capable of running quicker, he determined that a 79-mile-per-hour pace would suffice. Any faster and tire wear would jeopardize victory. 
So, as Barney Oldfield and Felix Magone battled at better than 90 mph, Cooper let his strategy play out, maintaining his predetermined speed. Multiple pit stops forced others out of contention, and he won easily. His average speed — 78 mph. 
Cooper’s first race was in 1908 in San Francisco. He planned on driving a Maxwell belonging to a lady customer of the dealership he worked for. Instead, his boss took the Maxwell. Cooper got another ride, and soundly beat his employer. Fired for that insubordinate act, he went racing.
By 1910, Cooper was so dominant that the magazine Horseless Age claimed he was ruining racing by winning too often. Automotive manufacturer, Harry Stutz latched onto the young talent, and Cooper drove the white No. 8 Stutz factory team car from 1912 until Stutz pulled out of racing in 1916. Cooper continued racing, and winning, with other teams, until he semi-retired at the outbreak of WWI. Unhappy in retirement, he returned to race full time in 1922. 
Cooper ran Indianapolis seven times, and was always in contention there. He captured the pole for his last 500 in 1926, but never won. He came disappointingly close in 1924.
Yet, afterwards while his mechanic apologized profusely for the blown tires that cost the race, Cooper seemed unperturbed. Interrupting, he said, “Never mind that. Did you see that redhead in the stands where the tires blew? That’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen! I’m not going to rest until I know her name.”
He learned it, and married her.
Perhaps that was American racing hero Earl Cooper’s finest display of coolness in the heat of racing.