Astor Cup (auto race)

Astor Cup (auto race)

The Astor Cup was an American auto racing event first run in 1915 at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway at Sheepshead Bay, New York. The winners trophy was donated by Vincent Astor whose name and connections ensured the attendance of members of New York City's fashionable and wealthy elite. Owned by a group of Wall Street and other business investors including Carl G. Fisher of Indianapolis, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation acquired the defunct horse racing facility known as the Sheepshead Bay Race Track owned by William Kissam Vanderbilt and Leonard Jerome's Coney Island Jockey Club. The purchase was completed in April 1915 and the first Astor Cup race was held on October 2nd that year.

Run over a two-mile (3 km) banked oval dirt track, the convert|350|mi|km|sing=on race was marred by the death of Harry Grant who died when his vehicle crashed during a practice run. Won by Gil Anderson in a Stutz, the first Astor Cup drew the top drivers from across the United States and Europe such as Ralph DePalma, Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker, Dario Resta, and Howdy Wilcox.

The race ceased to exist after two years when the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties in 1917 and the property was sold for residential real estate development.

External links

* [http://www.rumbledrome.com/index.html Website for the 1915 Astor Cup race & Sheepshead Bay race details] (Site contains newspaper articles and an excellent collection of photos)


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