Vanderbilt Cup Races

Correction:  The oval track at the middle right is the horse track, NOT auto; ditto for practice track.

From Mystery Foto #38 Solved:Roosevelt Raceway, Meadow Brook Polo Field & Roosevelt Field Updated 1/24/16

Looking northwest about 1950 at the Roosevelt Field and Raceway area.  Roosevelt Field in the top left background (airfield).  Center right is the oblong auto racetrack; to the right of that is the practice auto racetrack.  The circular structures at lower right are the horse paddock areas.  Lower left is housing at Mitchel Field. Old Country Road runs diagonally from middle right to top left, along the right side of Roosevelt Airfield.

From Mystery Foto #38 Solved:Roosevelt Raceway, Meadow Brook Polo Field & Roosevelt Field Updated 1/24/16

Belmont Park, Opened May 4, 1905?

From Mystery Foto #38 Solved:Roosevelt Raceway, Meadow Brook Polo Field & Roosevelt Field Updated 1/24/16

Howard.  You really got yourself something there,didn’t you? Good for you. You never know what you’ll get,pertaining to the Motor Parkway,when you go somewhere

From A 1926 Map of the Motor Parkway Acreage in Brentwood

From Dr. Jack Binder:

If you would take the subway toward Manhattan from Sheepshead Bay – A little distance-You would see where the spur came in on the right to the race track.(No longer there)

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Great video,enough to catch your attention and eyes

From Willie K’s Cars #7: 1928 Lincoln Model L Town Car Built for his Wife Rosamund & A Music Video

Got a lot of responses on this one.I never knew there was a race track in Sheepshead Bay and I was brought up in Brooklyn and had family in Bay Ridge. Learning so much from from this site.If I only knew some of these things in an earlier stage of life,I would be able to answer these mysteries

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Coney Island had it all, and that freaky fish !!! Good Stuff !

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Howard- Always enjoy seeing the cars. The Chrysler looked great on Sunday. Congrats on the People’s choice again, you’ll get Count Trossi next time!

From Highlights from the Sunday in the Park Concours d'Elegance at Lime Rock Track

Digging a bit and found…..
# 7 Milton/Duesenberg…...come up blank on Vanderbilt Cup
# 8 Eddie Hearne?/Duesenberg…..3 time VDB Cup racer
# 1 Dario Resta/Resta Special…...winner of 1915, 1916 VDB Cup
# 9 Ralph Mulford/Frontenac….winner 1911 VDB Cup
# 3 Louis Chevrolet/Frontenac….4 time VDB Cup racer

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

I believe by the roof structure it’s Sheepshead Bay 2 mile board track in Sheepshead Bay NY….the race is the Harkness Sweepstakes…...Oldfield and Chevrolet were in the race….but so far as knowing who’s who….I’ll yield to others.

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

The photo shows the line-up of the 10 Mile final race at Sheepshead Bay on June 1st, 1918, which was won by Louis Chevrolet in 5 min 57.4 secs. He drove the Frontenac with number 3, which is car nearest to the grandstand. The other teams were from left ro right: Mulford on #9 Frontenac; Resta on #1 Resta Special; Hearne on #8 Frontenac; and Milton on #7 Duesenberg. All drivers except Milton had taken part at least once in a Vanderbilt Cup race.
The main event was the Harkness Trophy 100 Miles race, won by Louis Chevrolet in 1917, but won this year by Ralph De Palma on a Packard.
Sheepshead Bay track was located on the most eastern point of Long Island, south of Brooklyn, near Brighton Beach.

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

From John Benfield

Howard,
I never do well on your mystery Photos, but this one was easy (lucky) for me ... I took the date, Googled “June 1, 1918, car race”, and got pictures for sale, there were 2, the one you posted, and a companion picture titled “Harkness race Jun 1, 1918”, I Googled that, and the actual race stat sheet came up.. http://www.champcarstats.com/races/1918nc1.htm .... then I cross checked the drivers with the list of Vanderbilt drivers on your website…Googled Sheepshead Bay Race Track and got this site w/ a lot of info about the track http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/sheepshead-bay-speedway.html , and got the exact location by comparing to Google maps.

It was fun, but I feel like I cheated compared to the experts who play this game and really know what they are talking about!... I enjoy your news letter every Sunday morning, Thanks!
Best Regards,
John Benfield

Mystery Foto questions:
• Identify the race: The Harkness Handicap ... 2 Mile Board Oval 50 Laps/100 Miles
• Identify the race track. Where exactly was it located?: Sheepshead Bay Speedway (on the corner of West Brighton Avenue and West 5th Street in Brooklyn)
• Identify the five drivers and their race cars: Louis Chevrolet- Frontenac, Eddie Hearne-Duesenberg, Denny Hickey- Hudson, Tommy Milton- Duesenberg, Ira Vail- Hudson
• Which of these drivers are linked to the Vanderbilt Cup Races? Louis Chevrolet, Dario Resta, Ralph Mulford….. Also Arthur Duray , but it appears he didn’t show up with his Duesenberg that day

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Identify the race:  The June 1, 1918 10 mile Futurity Handicap

Identify the race track.  Sheepshead Bay Motor Speedway

Where exactly was it located? It encompassed much of what is now the current area of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. It was located northeast of Brighton Beach and southeast of Gravesend. It was between Gravesend Neck Road to the north, Voorhies Avenue 5 to the south and Ocean Avenue (which would otherwise be 20th Street) to the east. Since the track was built by Leonard Jerome, there is a “Jerome Avenue” running by the track.

Identify the five drivers and their race cars:
Car 7 - Tommy Milton, Duesenberg
Car 8 - Eddie Hearne - Duesenberg
Car 1- Dario Resta - Resta Special
Car 9 - Ralph Mulford - Frontenac
Car 3 - Louis Chevrolet - Frontenac

Which of these drivers are linked to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?
All but Tommy Milton were drivers in Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Ha Ha, great comment Joe!

From Smiles & Thumbs Ups from the Port Jefferson Hill Climb & This Sunday's Four Car Shows

Was this the Freeport race track ?

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

oops, Harkness Trophy Race (1918 per the date on the photo), won by Ralph DePalma in a Packard

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Sheepshead Bay - Astor Cup Race - still digging….

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Interesting note about the body builder for the 1908 Locomobile - Durham. As far as I know the only body builder by that name built sidecars for motorcycles and some speedster bodies for model T chassis. Derham was a well know body builder from Rosemont , Pa. and was one of the last custom coachwork firms that saw their roots in the carriage trade to exist, going out of business in the early 1970s. Often car owners in print or else where refer to the DUrham body rather that what it really is by the DErham body company. There was a bull durham tobacco but they didn’t design and build coachwork for motor cars.
I think it is wonderful that your Chrysler received the people’s choice award, perhaps even more significant than the Best in Show since the venue was really a sports car showcase with all the boy racer machinery far out numbering the pre war classics and the majority of the crowd had to be enthusiasts of the sports cars there. They voted for a most formal car as their choice - way cool.

From Highlights from the Sunday in the Park Concours d'Elegance at Lime Rock Track

Fantastic video and story on the cars and people who participated. Especially interesting was info on Christie. Oldfield made some interesting comments after driving that car.

From Film and Photos: The 1905 Ormond-Daytona Beach Automobile Races