rules for the little 500:

"To maintain an even competition field in the inaugural 1951 Little 500, Howdy Wilcox contacted the Schwinn Bicycle Company, attempting to get the 40 necessary bicycles donated for that first race. Schwinn officials balked at offering freebies for a first-time race but offered to sell Wilcox some 40 bicycles at wholesale cost. The Little 500 rules and regulations prohibited the bicycles from being altered. Each team was issued one bike, which was used for qualifications, practice and the actual race competition. Under no circumstances would a team be allowed to keep a bicycle out more than two hours at one time, because there were 58 teams signed up for qualifications, which meant there were not enough bikes for each team. Three violations of this rule would automatically eliminate a team from competition."

found here http://iusf.bloomington.com/little5/...er_sept26.html