The 1905 Finish
The Grandstand Crowd Near the End of the Race
The Mineola grandstand crowd went wild when Victor Hemery won in the Darracq, averaging 61.5 mph. The 1904 winner, George Heath, finished in second place only three minutes and 42 seconds behind.
Crowds Storms Lancia After His Finish
With the first two places decided, the battle for third place was heated between Lancia’s F.I.A.T. and Tracy’s Locomobile. After Hemery completed his winning run, spectators packed the road near the grandstand. Lancia was forced to bring the F.I.A.T to a crawl before he crossed the finish line. He was stormed by a horde of admirers for his amazing race in what the New York Times called a “hurricane of cheers.”
Locomobile Finishes Race As Lancia Looks On
Within a minute of Lancia’s finish, Tracy’s Locomobile (right) crossed the finish line while the disappointed Lancia watched in his car. Tracy had done the seemingly impossible by making up time on the flying Italian and beating Lancia by two minutes and five seconds, averaging 56.9 mph. The third place finish was the first time an American car had ever placed in an international competition.
Hemery and the Darracq Win for France -->
1905
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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