Harry Grant
Alco Passes Under Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge (1909)
Harry Grant’s #8 ALCO moved into second place as he passed under a Long Island Motor Parkway bridge during lap 15. The bridge was located in the Hempstead Plains in an area now filled with Levittown homes.
The Alco Takes the Turn (1909)
Driver Harry Grant in his #8 ALCO sped through the Hicksville Turn which was at the intersection of Broadway and Old Country Road. Located in one of the more heavily populated areas of Nassau County, this turn attracted a great deal of interest because of its potential to produce accidents and its proximity to the Hicksville railroad station. As with the Massapequa Turn, the Hicksville Turn was banked slightly for safety.
Close-Up of Alco’s Team (1909)
Widely regarded as one of the more dangerous turns, the Westbury Turn attracted a large throng of people, many unwisely lining the course and clearly in harm’s way. The turn was banked on its west side in an effort to assist cars from skidding off the course. Full-face hoods were worn by both ALCO driver Grant and his mechanician Frank Lee to protect them from dust and stones.
Grant Wins in the Alco (1909)
Harry Grant and the ALCO won the fifth competition for the William K. Vanderbilt Jr. Cup. Only two of 15 starters completed the race, Grant and the F.I.A.T. driven by Edward Parker, who finished five minutes and 16 seconds behind the winner. The ALCO, the only six cylinder car in the race, had survived a torturous test. In the convention of the day, all other cars had four cylinder engines.
Crowds Go Wild at Finish Line (1909)
Pit crews and race officials cheered as Harry Grant’s ALCO passed the finish line and won the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup. Grant achieved an average speed of 62.8 mph for the 278.08 miles. This speed was faster than all of the previous Vanderbilt Cup Races with the exception of Robertson’s 1908 victory at 64.38 mph.
Grant at the Westbury Turn (1910)
The 1909 winner Harry Grant drove another steady race, taking advantage of the accidents and mechanical failures of other competitors. The crowd was dangerously close to the cars at the turn at Old Country Road and Ellison Avenue in Westbury.
Alco Wins Again! (1910)
Starter Fred Wagner waved the checkered flag as #18 ALCO stormed by to win the 1910 race. The final lap was full of the drama of a classic Vanderbilt Cup Race. Grant struggled to hold off 21-year-old Joe Dawson, also known as “The Indiana Whirlwind.” After Louis Chevrolet’s car retired, Dawson had the fastest car, pulling out a lead of more than four minutes on Grant by lap 17. But the poor judgment of a spectator who was hit by Dawson on the backstretch during the next lap determined the outcome of the race. Dawson stopped to check on the man, who suffered two broken legs, and then had to pit to repair his gas line. He spent the remaining four laps steadily gaining on Grant only to come up 25 seconds short.
The Winning Alco Team (1910)
Grant (center) and mechanician Frank Lee (at Grant’s left in foreground) posed with admirers after taking the Vanderbilt Cup Race for the second consecutive year. Grant used the same ALCO – certified by officials after the race as a stock car – in both his victories.
Featured Drivers
- George Arents, Jr.
- William Borque
- Louis Chevrolet
- J. Walter Christie
- David Bruce-Brown
- Albert Clement, Jr.
- Bert Dingley
- Arthur Duray
- Lee Frayer
- Harry Grant
- George Heath
- Victor Hemery
- Foxhall Keene
- Billy Knipper
- Vincenzo Lancia
- William Luttgen
- Herb Lytle
- Felice Nazzaro
- Edward Parker
- Al Poole
- Eddie Rickenbacker
- George Robertson
- Charles Schmidt
- Elliot Shepard
- Emil Stricker
- George Teste
- Joe Tracy
- Louis Wagner
- A.C. Webb
- Walter White
Feature
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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