Vanderbilt Cup Races

Re. The photo of the Buick on an unknown location of the Motor Parkway…. I say east of the Bethpage Lodge because of the lack of concrete extensions. The road in the background appears to a limited access highway which leads me to say the photo was taken from the Motor Parkway west of Commack Rd. in the vicinity of the Northern State Parkway exit on the Motor Parkway. (Or ...vicinity of the Northern State/Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow interchange.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

I agree with Bill Bellmer that the photo saying…. looking west at Clinton Rd./ bridge embankment is not correct. Its tempting to say Clinton Rd. because of the lack of a barrier at that point. The piece of the concrete extension puts the photo west of the Bethpage Lodge. How about the possibility that the photo was taken from the west side of Lakeville Rd ?  That would account for the Parkway ROW on the east side of Lakeville Rd. being at street level, and, .... could that be the Great Neck Lodge in the distance on the right side-center ?

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Regarding the Mystery Foto #1, The video of the race has me wondering… Why at the start of the race do we see sports cars in the front of the pack? If I had attended the event I would probably know the answer but I was in Germany at the time. Were there sports cars on the track at the same time as the Formula Juniors having their own race, or ????. Did the sports cars have their own separate race? See attached image.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Jim Rathmann and Carroll Shelby at the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Gene Ingram:

The driver is Jim (or Dick) Rathmann and the passenger is Carrol Shelby in your Mystery friday photo #1 in old 16.

Gene Ingram
New Castle, In.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Jim Rathmann and Carroll Shelby at the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Since this robbery was solved with details later confessed, I wonder if toll collection tickets later included entry for number of occupancy in vehicles. I don’t recall seeing this in any Motor Parkway toll ticket.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway and the Bellmore Bank Robbery

Ariejan,
Ken Purdy’s article titled “Classics of the Road” to which you refer was published in 1955 but I’m afraid I can’t tell you in which magazine.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 2 - The Race that Brought Willie K. "Racing" to America"

I see what your saying Bill about the view looking west of Clinton Rd. Even though homes may have not been built yet just across Clinton Rd, the scenery looks more like the Melville area. A transmission tower should also be in view if this is Garden City, I see none. Images may have been miss marked, looking forward to the rest.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Carroll Shelby once signed Howard Kroplick’s glove box in his 1966 Shelby Mustang. I recognize the driver but his name eludes me. Will be back with the answer or be eternally humiliated in the Automobile Walk of Shame.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Jim Rathmann and Carroll Shelby at the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Happy New Year to Howard,Al and everyone else!

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Jim Rathmann and Carroll Shelby at the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Can’t answer most of these questions,but person on right is Carroll Shelby.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Jim Rathmann and Carroll Shelby at the 1960 Vanderbilt Cup Race

A little ‘then and now’

From Update From the Pickering Collection: Images of the Vanderbilt Cup Races and Long Island

Again a nice set of photos. Though the racing cars are a bit tiny, one small caption error comes to light: Lancia with Fiat nr. 4 is competing in the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup race, not the one of 1905. By a twist of fate (?) Lancia received the same number in both races, but in 1905 the number was painted dark on a light background, and in 1906 light on a dark background.
The car in the Armistice Parade on the second photo could well be a small Mack truck. I’m not a real truck specialist, so please correct me if I’m wrong!

From Update From the Pickering Collection: Images of the Vanderbilt Cup Races and Long Island

Howard,
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos. I grew up a few blocks from there on Avalon Road. We used to ride our bikes up, and down fast, on the Clinton Road bridge embankment, never knowing what it was, on our way to and back from Stewart School. Nice memories.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Ariejan,
Thank you for the additional information.  All the cars and drivers were captioned on the rear of the photos by Peter Helck of which I just provided along with the photo.  However some of Peter’s handwriting was hard to decipher - now that you’ve provided the correct spellings I definitely agree with you and I’ll revise the captions accordingly.  One more set of the photographs is currently being created for the last part of the series.  Thanks very much for your input and best wishes for 2021.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 2 - The Race that Brought Willie K. "Racing" to America"

Hi Al, yes Austin got at least some of the Motor Parkway plates at a car show/flea market in Port Washington in the Manorhaven area decades ago. Not sure what he paid but it wasn’t much. This was when Joe Gaeta of Manorhaven was still alive and would show up at the same show in his Isotta Fraschini type 8 boat tail roadster that was ordered by Rudolph Valentino when new but Valentino never took delivery because he died . Joe G. worked for the New York IF agency and paid off the car and owned it . Joe was a great guy easy to converse with and I was about 17 years old but he loved to talk to me because I knew what an Isotta Fraschini was when most kids my age only knew what a GTO or Stingray was. Someone once commented to me that “you were born old” - heck I can agree.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

HAPPY NEW YEAR and thank you for your continued dedication. Stay safe !

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 2 - The Race that Brought Willie K. "Racing" to America"

Walt, Didn’t Henry Austin Clark acquire the plates at a car show in Port Washington many years ago,....and cheaply ?

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Bill, Was at Raymond Court last week, the parking field street lights have been put up.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Regarding the picture “view looking west…”: This is not the location described. From the shadows on the ground, it appears to be looking east. The scene in the distance is not that of Garden City at any time, east or west. There appears to be a new sump on the far side of the roadway that the parkway once passed over. So the challenge is to locate the proper scene location.

A word on the Stewart Field parking area that the GC Village overlaid on the parkway to our dismay: no more work has been done there. As Village Historian, I have not been able to get a response from them so far on any future clearing to be done. I have also not yet received a response to my inquiry about where visitors to see the LIMP are supposed to park when the parking area gate is closed. The turnaround at the head of Raymond Court is presumably still to be a no-parking area, as it was put there originally for the benefit of school buses, garbage trucks, and such.

From 1958-1967 tours of the Long Island Motor Parkway #4: Garden City

Yes, another great year of Long Island History! I know Art is very humble, but his role here is much appreciated.

From The Top 30 VanderbiltCupRaces Posts of 2020