Kimbo1
Good question, no clue!

justaratchethead
Thats a very good question that nobody really knows the answer too. The earliest pictures found of the checkered flag is from the first Vanderbilt trophy race on Long Island New York in 1904. Other say it came from early French bicycle races where they used checkered vest on officials to mark the course through the city.

chuck m
I found this i hope it helps. The checkered flag The checkered flag is the most famous flag in auto racing, and it invariably indicates that the leader has completed the race. A typical checkered flag design. [edit] Design of the checkered flag There is no standard design for the checkered flag. Although it nearly always consists of alternating black and white squares or rectangles arranged in a chequerboard pattern, the number, size, and length-width proportions of the rectangles vary from one flag to another. Also, the checkered flag typically has a black rectangle at the corner of the flag closest to the top of the flagpole. In NASCAR, the checkered flag has also had the fuel sponsor’s logo (Sunoco, since 2004) emblazoned in the center of the flag. In addition, NASCAR has a special version for Victory Lane that has the name and date of the race on it. That flag is used for the team in winner's photographs made after the race, and usually is hung on top of the race team's headquarters as a trophy to celebrate its win. [edit] Origins of the checkered flag The exact origins of the use of a checkered flag to end races are lost in history, although there are many theories. A possible though unlikely theory is that horse races during the early days of the settlement of the American Midwest were followed by large public meals and that to signal that the meals were ready and racing should come to an end, a checkered tablecloth was waved. Another origin theory claim is that the checkered flag's earliest known use was for 19th century bicycle races in France. A more likely explanation is that a single-colored flag would be less conspicuous against the background of a crowd, especially when early races were run on dirt tracks (and therefore dust reduced the driver's visibility). The earliest known photographic record of a checkered flag being used to end a race was from Long Island, New York in 1904 at the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup race. Some historians dispute the dating of this photograph, and attribute it to the Vanderbilt races of 1906 or 1908. A 2006 publication "The Origin of the Checker Flag - A Search for Racing's Holy Grail", written by historian Fred Egloff and published by the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, traces the flag's origin to one Sidney Waldon, an employee of the Packard Motor Car Company, who in 1906 devised the flag to mark "checking stations" (now called "checkpoints") along the rally-style events of the Glidden Tour.

TennisAceRG
this site should be able to help you out