Vanderbilt Cup Races

On September 10, 1908, the AAA Race Commission announced plans to christen the Motor Parkway with an event called, “The Long Island Motor Parkway Sweepstakes.” Five concurrent stock car races were scheduled for October 10, 1908. The idea was to create an opportunity to test the new course, timing systems, and crowd control for the Vanderbilt Cup Race scheduled two weeks later.

The cars in the Sweepstakes Races were classified by their sales price. Six cars participated in the Jericho Sweepstakes, the race for stock cars "costing 1,001 to $2,000". The "J" cars in the Jericho Sweepstakes raced six laps for a total of 150.76 miles. The winner of the race was the #J11 Chalmers.

#J11 Chalmers-Detroit driven by W. R. Burns. Finished 1st averaging 46.2 miles per hour.

#J12 Mitchell driven by C. A. Kerchoff Finished 6th. Note: The mechanician standing on the running board.

#J13 Maxwell driven by Charles See. Finished 4th.

#J15 Selden driven by Charles Young. Finished 5th.

#J16 Chalmers-Detroit driven by George Ainslee. Finished 2nd.

#J18 Mitchell driven by F. Zirbes. Finished 3rd.

1908 Sweepstakes results as published in Automobile Topics

Links to related posts on VanderbiltCupRaces.com:

Index: Vanderbilt Cup Races Starting Lineups (1904-1910)

Index: 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes