Packard #16  (1904)

The American #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” Taking the Massapequa Turn (1904)
The American #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” Taking the Massapequa Turn
Courtesy of The Helck Family Collection

The sleek 30-hp #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” was a dirt-track car designed by its driver Charles Schmidt. The first Packard racer had previously set one-mile and five-mile records in January 1904. An American Mutoscope and Biograph cameraman captured the “Gray Wolf” taking the second major turn on the course from Massapequa-Hicksville Road to the Bethpage-Hempstead Turnpike.

The American #16 Packard Gray Wolf at the Hempstead Control (1904)
The American #16 Packard Gray Wolf at the Hempstead Control
Courtesy of The George Eastman House

Shown stopped at the Hempstead Control, the small Packard “Gray Wolf” proved surprisingly durable and was in fourth position when the race ended.

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The 128-page book by Howard Kroplick, a researcher and lecturer on the races, contains rare images of the races from the archives of major museums, libraries and private collectors. The book Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island will be available from Arcadia Publishing in March 2008.

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The American #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” Taking the Massapequa Turn The American #16 Packard Gray Wolf at the Hempstead Control