The Astor Cup Race was an American

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

event, first run in 1915 at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway at

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * '' Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The winner's trophy was donated by

Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the eld ...

, whose name and connections ensured the attendance of members of New York City's fashionable and wealthy elite.

1915

Owned by a group of

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

and other business investors, including Harry Harkness of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and Carl G. Fisher of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation acquired the defunct

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

facility known as the

Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a grou ...

(which had been owned by

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist, and horse breeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kissam Vand ...

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 9 that year. Run over a two-mile (3 km) banked oval board track, the race was marred by the death of Harry Grant who died when his vehicle crashed during a practice run. Won by Gil Andersen in a

Stutz The Stutz Motor Car Company was an American automobile Automotive industry, manufacturer based in Indianapolis, Indiana that produced high-end Sports cars, sports and Luxury vehicle, luxury cars. The company was founded in 1911 as the Idea ...

, the first Astor Cup drew the top drivers from across the United States and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

such as

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" DePalma (occasionally spelt De Palma, December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an American racing driver who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,0 ...

Barney Oldfield Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was a pioneer American racing driver. His name was "synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". He was the winner of the inaugural List of American ope ...

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Dario Resta Dario Raoul Resta (17 August 1882 – 3 September 1924), was a British racing driver. He is best remembered for his successes racing Championship Car, Indy cars in the United States. The 1916 AAA Championship Car season, 1916 American National ...

Johnny Aitken John Donald Aitken (May 3, 1885 – October 15, 1918) was an American racing driver from Indianapolis, who was active in the years prior to World War I. Aitken competed in the Indianapolis 500 three times. He started the race twice, in 1911 and 1 ...

and

Howdy Wilcox Howard Samuel "Howdy" Wilcox (June 24, 1889 – September 4, 1923) was an American racing driver active in the formative years of auto racing. He won the 1919 Indianapolis 500. Formative years and family Wilcox was born in Crawfordsville, In ...

1916

The 1916 race was run on October 30, 1916, with

winning and setting a speed record at 104 miles per hour. The race ceased to exist after two years. Other auto races continued at the track until 1919. The Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties, following the January 1919 death of Harry Harkness. The property was sold for residential real estate development.

Current usage

The original cup is now held by INDYCAR, LLC, which is a descendant of Fisher's Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as both are now owned by

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), also known as "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. Penske is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and ...

. Two cylindrical black granite bases have been added displaying the names of all the AAA, USAC, CART, and IRL series winners since 1909, including the winners of the ceremonial Gold Crown championship which only consisted of one race. The two granite bases are not actually attached to the trophy and are rarely seen with it when the trophy tours. This makes it possible for it to be picked up and held by its winner. Originally announced on October 12, 2011, as the new championship trophy for the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

, it was first presented to

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti (born 19 May 1973) is a British motorsport commentator and retired motor racing driver from Scotland. Franchitti won the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the Indianapolis 500 in ...

on February 13, 2012, during the organisation's State of INDYCAR address at

Hilbert Circle Theatre The Hilbert Circle Theatre, originally called the Circle Theatre, is in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monument Circle in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District. It was originally built in 1916 as a "deluxe movie palace" and now is ...

. The winning driver and team owner are each presented with a scaled replica of the trophy during official INDYCAR business meetings. Since 2012, the trophy has been presented at the final race of the season.

Race results

IndyCar drivers champions

References

Sources

*http://www.champcarstats.com *Galpin, Darren; ''A Record of Motorsport Racing Before World War I.''
Harry S. Harkness dies of Influenza
''The New York Times'', January 24, 1919

External links

(Site contains newspaper articles and an excellent collection of photos) {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor Cup (Auto Race) Auto races in the United States Astor family Motorsport competitions in New York (state) Auto racing trophies and awards