Vanderbilt Cup Races

More screenshots of the area, past and present.

From Update: 12/11/2025: A 17--year old Parkway Inn Lake Ronkonkoma sign mystery likely solved

Hi All, I believe this was the first mystery foto of this website. Noticed in the background there’s a house, and also a lattice type tower. Think we all agree that this area is Lake Ronkonkoma. You’ll see screenshots below - 1915 map shows a Water Tower just north of the LIMP & east of Rosevale Ave. Map is zoomed in, the wording of the Water Tower is blurry. So I marked it. Also notice the curved dotted roads that meet the Petite Trianon Entrance Road. Believe the photographer & car was at the south curved road. Mystery Foto is facing largely north. Notice where I marked the LIMP END at Rosevale Ave. LIMP doesn’t appear paved, and downwards sloped. Remember Al Velocci saying the parkway in Suffolk wasn’t paved until post 1912 or 13. Even today, the parkway slopes down towards Rosevale.

From Update: 12/11/2025: A 17--year old Parkway Inn Lake Ronkonkoma sign mystery likely solved

The Petit Trianon’s dining room including 2nd floor balcony, courtesy Gary Hammond

From Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: A Large Automobile Gathering at the Petit Trianon in Ronkonkoma

Partial capture of the former Petit Trianon (1911-1958) restaurant and lodging facility at the eastern end of the Long Island Motor Parkway at Lake Ronkonkoma. View is looking north towards North Drive (still there) where the vehicles are parked. Part of Petit’s traffic circle (now extinct) can be seen along the bottom of photo. A welcoming guesthouse that included outdoor swimming for weary motorists, some traveling the full 45-mile length of Motor Parkway from Queens County. Petit was designed by John Russell Pope who also designed the first 6 Motor Parkway toll houses (one remains intact today in Garden City at 7th St).
Below are insider views of Petit Trianon’s interior, hand-drawn sketches by childhood resident Bob DeStefani.
3rd floor: The lodging rooms
2nd floor: Bathrooms and Balcony
1st floor: The reception area

more info here à
https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/new_series_an_inside_look_of_the_petit_trianon_in_lake_ronkonkoma

From Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: A Large Automobile Gathering at the Petit Trianon in Ronkonkoma

This is of course the Parkway Inn later renamed Petit Trianon. The photographer is looking north west in front of the building, across the circular entrance pavement.

As the Inn opened June 9, 1911, perhaps this is when the image was taken, or the day before when a special dinner reception was held.

From Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: A Large Automobile Gathering at the Petit Trianon in Ronkonkoma

FANTASTIC FOTOS Gram! Amazing to see motor history that occurred before my time. Based on the height of the motorcycle jump, I don’t believe he made it?

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

Now #49 Swezey St. The house today was built in 1935. The 1930 aerial shows a building, likely the original home that the Morrissey Family resided.

From Kleiner's Korner: Two Family Members Building the Motor Parkway

I’m pretty sure that’s the Petit Trianon at the eastern end of the LIMP at Lake Ronkonkoma. Beyond that, everything else is a guess. The date might be June of 1911 during the grand opening. The photographer was probably Al Velocci. As for the cars, I think I see a 1905 Rambler, a 1908 Ford Model T, and a 1909 Packard.

From Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: A Large Automobile Gathering at the Petit Trianon in Ronkonkoma

Below you’ll see views of these homes today, and also the years built. Thinking maybe that #259 or 265 used to be #263.

From Kleiner's Korner: Two Family Members Building the Motor Parkway

Hi All, I tried looking into a little more history of the homes that the Morrissey Family resided in; as Art has researched above. You’ll first see below screenshots of the area of Oak St. 1917 map shows a mostly empty block, but owned by an Emery Clark Smith. Then 2 - 1930 aerials that I tried to make visually clear. The 4 houses that are present today look very much the same in 1930, having garage buildings in the rear. House #s 259, 265, 267, 271 are on 1950 census till presently.

From Kleiner's Korner: Two Family Members Building the Motor Parkway

i remember going to the Freeport raceway in the mid1970’s with my brother and his friends.We all piled into one huge car and watched either a race or demolition derby there at night.It was awesome.Great memories! Gene Perry

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

Saratoga

From Mystery Friday Foto #2 Solved: A Large Automobile Gathering at the Petit Trianon in Ronkonkoma

Oh, what memories! My friends and I would pile into my father’s van to go to Freeport Stadium several times each summer in the 60s. We would usually sit between curves 1 and 2 where most of the pile ups seemed to happen. Came home covered with soot and sawdust. Walking through the pits at intermission was an experience. Always bought one of those plastic race cars and painted them up with numbers to race at home down a makeshift ramp.

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

Al Gloddeck: Even though I wasn’t around when Dan Gurney was racing, he is one of my all-time greatest racing heroes. In fact, every day I walk past this image of him that my good friend Ed Justice took of him at the Indy 500.

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

These articles on LI racing history just keep getting better. I love that this is being documented so very well. Looking forward to seeing more of these InstaGram articles!

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

My mom brought me there most weekends. We’d get a couple of slices of pizza, coke colas and go to track. It was the first race track I ever went to and I was in love with the place. Oddly enough, I never raced there!

I raced at Islip, Bridgehampton, Mitchel Field and many other tracks in our country. It broke my heart to see a Home Depot in the same location

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

You’ve got the beginnings of a great book here documenting the racing history of Long Island as a vital part of the automotive and Motorsport scenario as it developed in America. That said, the contrasts and similarities of what occurred on the east coast and the west coast are fascinating.

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

I once read a story about the famous race driver Dan Gurney where he said his father took him to Freeport and he caught the racing bug there!  My dad used to take me there every so often and I caught it too but never became as famous as Dan Gurney ????.  My buddy and I did get to meet Marty Himes at his museum and I now have that famous “Stock Car Races” sign hanging in my garage.  Great memories of Freeport.  I now go to one of the last city speedways in Nashville and it too is struggling to survive and I’m sure that many kids will have great memories of it too!

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

In the late 1960’s I recall attending races at Freeport Speedway. I remember a claiming race group called the Bomber Class. These were unmodified cars mostly Ford, GM and Chrysler products scavenged from junk yards for $25 or less. Everyone ran an oversized right front tire to improve handling. The Dodge and Plymouth boys always seemed to have a handling advantage as they would secretly tighten up the torsion bar suspension! Fond memories.

From InstaGRAM Report: The Racing History of Freeport Stadium

Interesting history to Tucker 1046. In the fifties Oldsmobile was the King of the Road with it ohv Rocket 88 engine, but what intrigues me more is the 390 ford with Mercury chassis. In Yespalanti Mi. There was a Tucker Movie prop car made out of fiberglass and that car had a front Ford engine and complete chassis from what I was told was a 1971 Ford. I wonder if that prop car was inspired by the later version or generation 3 of Tucker 1046.

I believe that prop car is now on display in Hershey Pa. The car was drivable but the vehicle was only meant to be looked at from a distance. Only the drivers door opened with hardware store externally mounted hinges. The bench seat was from the 71 ford donar car as well as the dash panel-less ford steering wheel and steering column.

Is it possible some or many of the Corvair designers and engineers had backgrounds with the Tucker Corporation? In the area of Yespilanti (Preston Tuckers home town) is a transmission factory that made corvair, tornanado, cord, Pontiac tempest and a few other off the beaten path trannys.

From Postcards of the Long Island Automotive Museum: Tucker (1948)