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Action During the 1904 Race

The American #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” Taking the Massapequa Turn
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 French #7 Panhard Taking the Massapequa Turn
The French #7 Panhard Taking the Massapequa Turn
Courtesy of The Helck Family Collection

During lap three, George Heath’s #7 Panhard was in second place when he took the Massapequa Turn. Before the race, Heath’s Panhard was one of the favorites to win.

Controls in Hicksville and Hempstead -->

1904

  • Creating the First International Road Race in America
  • The 1904 Course and Headquarters
  • The Start-Finish Line in Westbury
  • They’re Off: Heading to the Hamlet of Jericho
  • Action During the 1904 Race
  • Controls in Hicksville and Hempstead
  • The Fatal Accident
  • The 1904 Finish
  • 50 Years After the Race
  • 1904 Race Statistics
  • 1904 Race Summary

Years

  • 1904
  • 1905
  • 1906
  • 1907
  • 1908
  • 1909
  • 1910
  • 1911-1960

Feature

Book Cover Image

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.

continue reading-->

Related Images

The American #16 Packard Gray Wolf at the Hempstead Control The French #7 Panhard Taking the Massapequa Turn The American #17 Simplex Filled with Holes Crowds Venture on the Course The American #6 Pope-Toledo and the French #7 Panhard Nassau Farmers Protest Race Race Participants Celebrate Again at the Garden City Hotel The American #4 Pope-Toledo Taking the Jericho Turn The French #14 Panhard at the Hempstead Control The American #16 Packard “Gray Wolf” Taking the Massapequa Turn Profile of the Winner George Heath
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