Vanderbilt Cup Races

Wheatley Heights?

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

Bethpage State Park, looking SSE.  You can see where the LIRR splits at (what used to be called) Bethpage Junction. One track goes southeast to Babylon (topmost), one goes east to Ronkonkama, one (no longer there) goes north to (Old) Bethpage beside Round Swamp Road. LIMP is longer road in foreground.

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

North Shore, Calverton/Riverhead area

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

It could be the northern end of Salsbury Park in East Meadow where the 1908 course cut across from Elison Ave to Salsbury Park Drive?

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

Its the limp running through bethpage state park.

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

You got me on this one,no clue at all can’t even guess at it,it can be anywhere,it looks as though it’s surrounded by water and most of L:ong Island is surrounded by some kind of water. By the way I took that stroll from Cunningham Park to Alley Pond Park,I thought it was more than 2 miles,it was a pretty nice day yesterday.

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

Roosevelt Field

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

This was an easy one.  😊

From Mystery Friday Photo #1 Solved: The Bethpage State Park in Old Bethpage and Farmingdale

Thanks for sharing.  Looks like a great time.

From Memories of Super Bowl XLVII In New Orleans

Howie,

Super exciting—I felt like I was sitting there next to you !

I’m proud to be a Kroplick…

From Memories of Super Bowl XLVII In New Orleans

From Jack Mandel:

“Excellent!”

From Memories of Super Bowl XLVII In New Orleans

One of these days I will take the stroll thru Cunningham Park and Alley Pond Park,I’ve been wanting to since that day we had the drive thru it with the Model A Club ,but never got a chance to yet,I wil do it as soon as the weather gets better,then I’ll know what you guys are talking about and have a better understansding what’s going on. Enjoyed the videos on Wendell Scott and the race cars of yesterdays,I use to watch those cars race at Freeport and Islip Speedways,that brought back memories of my younger days

From "Champion of the Parkway" Presented at the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society Meeting

I have a booklet with photos from the 1911 Vanderbilt Cup Races, run in Savannah, GA.  The “mystery gentleman” looks somewhat like the mechanic, Billy Chandler, who served Ralph Mulford, who won the 1911 event in a Lozier.  The poses are very different, of course, with Chandler and Mulford in full racing gear in my booklet.  Mulford gave great credit to Chandler’s strategy for the win.

From From the Barney Oldfield Collection: Four Classic Photos and One Mystery

Jack T.,

My grandfather was William Luttgen, the driver of the number 7 Mercedes.  I suspect that our grandfathers worked together in New York City on the Upper East Side, at a machine shop that was at some point called the Mercedes Repair Company.

William Luttgen had been a mechanic for Mercedes in Germany, serving as mechanician in several early races for the driver Foxhall Keene, who encouraged him to immigrate to America.  Long story, but his Mercedes experience brought the machine shop he found work at enough business that William was able to get a partnership stake in 1905.  Eventually he bought out his partners becoming sole owner.  I believe that the shop name had been changed to the Mercedes Repair Company by 1906, but I don’t really have all the history.

The family has a photo of the front of the shop with my grandfather sitting in a racing Mercedes on the sidewalk.  Most of the shop employees are in the photo if I am correct.  It would be interesting to see if your grandfather is in the picture, but I am not sure which of my cousins has the photo. 

If I can dig up any old photos of the shop I will try to pass them along through Howard.

Robert Luttgen

From Mechanician Joe Marx in the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race

You all probably notice on the top,bottom and both sides of the photo,something is inscribed on it,can’t make it out,this may lead to who he is. Are they words,codes or what?,that’s something to work on

From From the Barney Oldfield Collection: Four Classic Photos and One Mystery

Howard- that’s a post i guess I’ve missed.  Thanks.

From The Motor Parkway Toll Collection Structures: #8 Mineola Lodge

There were 3 Ford Barber-Warnock specials entered in the 1924 Indy. 26,27 and 28. 26 did the best driven by Bill Hunt came in 14th.  No 28 driven by Alfted Moss, Stirling’s father was 16th and the car used for this photo shoot 27, was driven by Fred Harder and came in 17th.  They had Louis Chevrolet Frontinac OHV Model T engines. The chassis were built with after market parts sold by speedster parts shops. The bodies were by Morten-Brett of Indianapolis. Barber-Warnock was the Indianapolis Ford dealership.

From From the Barney Oldfield Collection: Four Classic Photos and One Mystery

I saw the CCC episode; really nice car, great to see it like that.

From Video: "Chasing a 1908 Simplex Speedcar"

I commented on this,but it didn’t get posted. It’s a toss up between the 1908 Siimplex Speedcar and your BLack Beast Howard,I’ve seen the Simplex in one of the museums I was at,but never in action,I would have to see it in action to make up my mind,but I think it would be your’s Howard, just because I see you more in action than I’ll ever see the Simplex. It’s all live not in pictures or on videos too. I have to get the full effect,as I do with your’s

From Video: "Chasing a 1908 Simplex Speedcar"

I use to work around their on Lakeville Rd,across from the turn on Jericho back in the middle 1970’s.when I had a 1968 Firebird HO 4 speed 4 barrel dual exhaust,those where the days,never knew I was driving on a historic roads. I use to live around their too

From Then & Now: New Hyde Park Turn