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Part 3 of Bob Brannon's epic work "History of Racing" takes us to America around the turn of the century as Bob works his way up to 24 hour races before the Rolex.-Editor-
The proliferation of city-to-city races in Europe at the dawn of auto racing was not surprising, given the advanced state of the road system in place at the time. The first paved streets were in Ur (in present-day Iraq) in 4000 BC. The Roman road system spanned more than 250,000 miles, including more than 50,000 miles of paved roads. In Gaul (present-day France and Belgium), more than 13,000 miles of road existed, and in Britain at least 2,500 miles were in use below Hadrian’s Wall.
In contrast, cities and towns in a young America were connected by rough, dirt wagon tracks and a few turnpike roads, and the only “streets” existed in the cities proper. The horse and carriage were the normal mode of transportation before the first automobiles appeared. The first usage of modern man-made asphalt on U.S. streets was in Battery Park and Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1872 and on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC in 1877.
At the start of the 20th century, 40% of American automobiles were powered by steam, 38% by electricity, and 22% by gasoline. The big question of the day was: which method of propulsion would win?
Electrics
Between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage. Frenchman Camille Faure improved the storage battery in 1881, which paved the way for electric vehicles to flourish. But where would this electricity come from?
In 1878, Thomas Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with several financiers, including J.P. Morgan and members of the Vanderbilt family. Edison demonstrated his incandescent light bulb in 1879. On September 4, 1882, Edison switched on his Pearl Street generating station’s electrical power generating system, which provided 110 volts (DC) to 59 customers in Manhattan.
By 1887, there were 121 Edison power stations in the U.S. delivering DC current to customers. Rival George Westinghouse advocated alternating current (AC – invented by Nikola Tesla), which was easier to transmit. DC could only be delivered 1 ½ miles from the generating plant, while AC could be stepped up to very high voltages with transformers and travel hundreds of miles. Edison then waged a “War of Currents” against Westinghouse to prevent AC from being adopted.
Edison became involved in the development and promotion the electric chair (using AC current) as an attempt to portray AC to have greater lethal potential than DC. Edison’s employees carried out controversial public executions of animals to demonstrate the dangers of AC, and in 1903, Edison’s workers electrocuted Topsy the elephant at Luna Park, near Coney Island, after she had killed several men and her owners wanted her put to death. AC was adopted in the end and replaced DC in most instances in generation and power distribution. Most subway systems today are still powered by DC.
In 1897, the first commercial application of electric vehicles was established as a fleet of New York City taxis built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia.
The early electric vehicles were little more than electrified horse carriages and surreys. The 1902 Woods Phaeton had a range of 18 miles, a top speed of 14 mph and cost $2,000. The electric car’s chief advantages over gasoline-powered cars were they did not have the vibration, smell, noise, nor required gear changes. The electrics did not require the manual effort to start, as with the hand crank on gasoline vehicles. Given that the only good roads of the time were in towns, the electric car was perfect for the short range commute.
The electric cars were not necessarily slow by any means. They won several short races, and in 1899, a Belgian-built rocket-shaped racer designed by Camille Janatzy set a world record for land speed when he broke the 100 kph (62 mph) barrier and reached a top speed of 65.79 mph. Due to running out of charge, they were not suitable for an endurance contest of any sort, which effectively eliminated them as a serious racing platform.
Steamers
In 1902, 485 of 909 new car registrations were steamers. New England was the center of steam car production, where 38 of the 84 manufacturers were located. By 1903, 43 of them were gone.
The invention of the flash steam boiler saw the appearance of various steam tricycles and quadricycles during the late 1880’s and early 1890’s, notably by De Dion & Bouton in France. The first marketable popular American steam car was the Locomobile Runabout produced from 1899 to 2005. The best-selling steam car during that period was the Stanley Steamer, and was second in sales only to Columbia Electric in the U.S.
The American Bicycle Company of Toledo, Ohio created a 6.5 hp Toledo Steam Carriage and won the 1901 New York to Buffalo Endurance Contest. The company switched to building gasoline powered vehicles in 1903 under the name Pope-Toledo.
The White Motor Company produced steam-powered cars from 1900-1910. In 1909, president-elect William Howard Taft selected a White Model M, a 40 hp, 7-person tourer as the first official automobile of the President of the United States. White produced more steam cars (10,000 or so) than any other maker, including Stanley. A 1904 White Model D is pictured below. Notice the exquisite hand craftsmanship.
Steam driven cars had several drawbacks. Chief among them was the fact that it took up to 45 minutes to start-up on cold mornings, and had less range before needing water than an electric’s range on a single charge.
The decline of the electric and steam-driven cars and the ascension of the gasoline-powered cars can be attributed to several reasons: Hiram Percy Maxim invented the muffler in 1897, which made the gasoline-powered cars much quieter, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 eliminated the need for the hand cranks, the discovery of Texas crude oil reduced the price of gasoline, Henry Ford’s assembly line resulted in much cheaper gasoline cars, and by the 1920’s, America had a better road system that now connected cities, which required longer-range vehicles.
In 1912, an electric roadster sold for $1,750 ($39,000 today) compared to a Ford as low as $440 ($9,200 today). The last Stanley Steamer was produced in 1924. Since 1886, it is estimated that over 1,500 automobile makers have operated in the United States.
Ironically, the first vehicle driven on the moon was the electric-powered Lunar rover on July 31, 1971, which was deployed during the Apollo 15 mission. The “moon buggy” was developed by Boeing and Delco Electronics, and featured a DC drive motor in each wheel, and a pair of 36-volt silver-zinc potassium hydroxide non-rechargeable batteries. Edison (and Topsy) would have been proud!
The Need for Speed
In 1898, an electric Jeantayd set the first recorded and recognized speed mark with a time of 39.245 mph. The only things faster on planet Earth were a steam-powered train and a cheetah.
In 1902, American William K. Vanderbilt broke the record in the first attempt by a gasoline-powered vehicle in Ablis, France driving a French Mors to a then mind boggling speed of 76.08 mph. Three months later the record was broken by another Mors.
In 1903, Henry Ford drove his Arrow to a new record of 91.37 mph on the frozen Lake St. Clair! Since the AAA used mechanical timers rather than the electric timers used by the ACF in France, the record was not acknowledged internationally. The French, being legends in their own minds, are the only people on the planet capable of making “official” decisions regarding things automotive. The practice continues today.
Vanderbilt retook the record by going 92.30 mph in January, 1904 in a Mercedes in Ormond Beach near Daytona, Florida. Later that year he topped 100 mph with a run of 102.85 mph. The French ignored these records too.
The record continued to fall at Daytona, and a Stanley Steamer set a new record in 1906 with a time of 127.66 mph. Barney Oldfield used a Benz to go 131.276 in 1910, while Bob Burman topped that a month later with a run of 141.732 in another Benz. This record would stand until after World War I. As usual, the French did not acknowledge the records set on American soil.
The Vanderbilt Cup Races 1904-1916
In 1900, 22-year old William K. Vanderbilt organized the National Automobile Racing Association. Willie K., as he was known, was a blueblood of the highest order. He became the first National Champion that year. After competing in Europe setting records and participating in various races, he returned to the U.S. and established the Vanderbilt Cup races in 1904.
Although the city-to-city races in Europe were abolished after the 1903 Paris to Madrid “Race of Death,” no such ban existed in America. Racing in America primarily consisted of events held on horse racing tracks.
A new American Automobile Association (AAA) was formed in Chicago in 1902, and Willie K. deeded a 24 inch tall silver Tiffany cup with a ten and a half gallon capacity as the trophy. A 30.24 mile road course over public roads was devised on Long Island, and every manufacturer (American and European) wanted to be involved in an event which carried the prestigious Vanderbilt name.
The American entries in the 18-car field included a Packard “Grey Wolf,” a 13 liter Pope-Toledo and an S&M Simplex. Five Mercedes were entered by Germany, three Italian FIATS, with a French 12.8 liter DeDietrich, 15.4 liter Panhard, a Renault, a Bayard and three others completing the international field.
The road course was triangular-shaped and required crossing five railroad tracks and traveled through two towns, Hicksville and Hempstead. Each racer would be required to ride through the towns behind a bicyclist to slow them down! Part of the course was dirt, the other part paved.
The 10-lap race was held on October 8, 1904. Most cars experienced tire troubles, and one of the Mercedes overturned after blowing a tire, killing the riding mechanic. George Heath won the race in his Panhard with an average of 52.2 mph after 6:45:45. Albert Clement’s Bayard was second and Herbert Lytle’s Pope-Toledo finished third.
The 1905 event, held on October 14th, was attended by over a quarter of a million fans and was won by Victor Hemery’s Darracq (France), with Heath’s Panhard second and Joe Tracy’s 17.7 liter Locomobile rounding out the podium.
Three hundred thousand attended the 1906 event, which made it the biggest sporting event in the U.S. So many American cars were entered, an elimination race was necessary. During the main race one spectator was killed and two injured. Wagner’s Darracq won the event. No event was held in 1907 due to safety concerns.
The 1908 event saw a reduced international field, due primarily to the new Grand Prize event held by the rival Automobile Club of America (ACA) in Savannah, Georgia. American George Robertson won the race in his Locomobile, the first win for an American car and driver.
The track was shortened in 1909 and was conducted on five miles of the new Parkway and 7.6 miles on public roads. The entry was changed to production-based cars of up to 10 liters, and was won by Harry Grant’s chain-driven Alco-6 who repeated the feat in 1910. The 1910 start is pictured below. After so many deaths and injuries, the Cup was moved to Savannah as a support race for 1911, and was won by American Ralph Mulford in a Lozier.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin won the rights to hold the 1912 Grand Prize and Cup races on a 7.8 mile course. Eight cars started, with Ralph DePalma (Indy 500 winner in 1915) winning at 68.9 mph in a Mercedes. No race was held in 1913, and the 1914 race was held in Santa Monica, California where DePalma won again.
The 1915 race was moved yet again to San Francisco and was run on a 3.8 mile course around some of the finest houses and the Palace of Fine Arts. The rules were changed for both the Grand Prize and Cup races, limiting engine size to 450 cubic inches, so the 30-car fields were virtually identical. Dario Resta won both events with a Peugeot.
Both races returned to Santa Monica for 1916. Resta’s Peugeot won the final Cup race at 86.98 mph. Resta also won the Indy 500 that year. The race was cancelled after the U.S. joined the Allies in WWI in 1917. The original Vanderbilt Cup trophy is now housed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
With World War I under way, and the AAA championship comprised of speedways where crowds paid to see the races, road racing was not profitable. American racing would be confined to oval tracks until after World War II except for a brief revival of the Vanderbilt Cup races in 1936 and 37.
The early 1900’s were a time of explosive growth and diversity for the auto racing industry. The city-to-city races had come and gone, and closed course road racing was in force in Europe. The Americans were more interested in oval track based competition, and attention turned to establishing distance records over a 24-hour period.
Bob Brannon |
