Uniontown Speedway
| Location | Hopwood, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°52′38″N 79°42′39″W / 39.87722°N 79.71083°W} |
| Opened | 1916 |
| Closed | 1922 |
| Major events | Universal Trophy Liberty Sweepstakes Autumn Classic AAA Championship Car |
| Board (1916–1922) | |
| Surface | Wood |
| Length | 1.125 miles (1.8 km) |
| Banking | 34° |
| Dirt (1946–?) | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | .5 miles (.805 km) |
Uniontown Speedway was a wooden board track in Hopwood, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The track was built in 1916, after the Summit Mountain Hill Climbs were outlawed, and held its final race in June 1922. The May/June race was known as the Universal Trophy, so named because Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Films, had sponsored the $3,000, solid silver trophy.[1] Laemmle's company filmed each race, playing them at local theaters. Two National Championship races were held at Uniontown, in 1921 and 1922.
History
[edit]Motorsport was extremely dangerous in the days of the board tracks, but the inaugural race at Uniontown on December 2, 1916 was an especially bloody event, even for the standards of the day. Two were killed (a driver and his riding mechanic) during practice a few days prior, and five (two spectators and three participants) died during the race.[2][3][4]
A second Uniontown Speedway, adjacent to the original site, was active in 1946, as a half-mile (.805 km) dirt track. It held a National Championship-level sprint car race won by Ted Horn.
AAA Championship Car results
[edit]Non-championship races in italics
| Year | Date | Winner | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | December 2 |  Louis Chevrolet
|
Frontenac |
| 1917 | May 10 | William Taylor
|
Stutz-Wisconsin |
| September 3 | Frank Elliott
|
Delage | |
| October 29 | Eddie Hearne
|
Duesenberg | |
| 1918 | May 16 | Ralph Mulford
|
Frontenac |
| July 18 | Louis Chevrolet
|
Frontenac | |
| September 2 | Ralph Mulford
|
Frontenac | |
| 1919 | May 19 | Tommy Milton
|
Duesenberg |
| July 19 | Tommy Milton
|
Duesenberg | |
| September 1 | Gaston Chevrolet / Joe BoyerA
|
Frontenac | |
| 1920 | June 19 | Tommy Milton
|
Duesenberg |
| September 6 | Tommy Milton
|
Duesenberg | |
| 1921 | June 18 | Roscoe Sarles
|
Duesenberg |
| September 5 | I. P. Fetterman[5]
|
Duesenberg | |
| 1922 | June 17 | Jimmy Murphy
|
Duesenberg-Miller |
| [6] | |||
- ^A Shared drive
| Year | Date | Winner | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | August 25 | Ted Horn
|
Horn-Offy |
| [7][8] | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ McGuinness, Marci (2009). Uniontown Speedway Program, 1916: Preliminary Opening Race. Shore Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-0938833291.
- ^ "Auto Racer and Aid Killed" (PDF). The New York Times. November 28, 1916. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Auto Racer Kills Two at Uniontown Track" (PDF). The New York Times. December 3, 1916. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ McGuinness, Marci. "108 Years of Racing History - Never Before Seen Board Track Photos". www.uniontownspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Fetterman Scores In Uniontown Race. Averages 99.8 Miles an Hour Capture 225-Mile Auto Classic on Speedway. Murphy Finishes Second. Is Less Than Two Minutes Behind the Winner, With Sarles Third and Miller Fourth". The New York Times. September 6, 1921. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
I. P. Fetterman of Pittsburgh today won to Autumn classic at the Automobile Speedway ...
- ^ "Uniontown Speedway". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ "Uniontown Speedway". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ "AAA Sprint Car Race". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
External links
[edit]- Uniontown Speedway at the GEL Motorsport Information Page