Action During the 1909 Race
View from the Grandstand
Grandstand spectators had an excellent view of the action taking place on the Long Island Motor Parkway. Across the road was the two-level press and officials’ stand, which served as a hub for the event. Telephone reports were called in from around the 12.64-mile course so officials could update the scoreboard and announcer Peter Prunty could shout news through his giant megaphone to the gathering.
Alco Passes Under Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge
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.
Chalmers-Detroit at the Massapequa Turn
The #7 Chalmers-Detroit driven by William Knipper skidded through the Massapequa Turn just after the end of the Long Island Motor Parkway portion of the course. The building in the background was the Massapequa Lodge, one of the three toll lodges built in 1908 to collect fares when the public used the Motor Parkway. The banked turn was part of a temporary road built especially for the race to connect the exit of the Motor Parkway with northward bound Massapequa-Hicksville Road.
Action at the Hicksville Turn -->
1909
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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