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. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

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 Am ...

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

. 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 an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

and other business investors, including Harry Harkness of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and

Carl G. Fisher Carl Graham Fisher (January 12, 1874 – July 15, 1939) was an American entrepreneur. He was an important figure in the automotive industry, in highway construction, and in real estate development. In his early life in Indiana, despite fa ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation acquired the defunct

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic p ...

facility known as the

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Yo ...

(which had been owned by

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

and Leonard Jerome's

Coney Island Jockey Club Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Y ...

). 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 Gilbert Andersen (sometimes misspelled Anderson) (27 November 1879 – 20 September 1930) was a Norwegian-American racecar driver active during the formative years of auto racing. Biography Gilbert "Gil" Andersen was born on 27 November 1879 i ...

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

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

such as

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion 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 an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". After success in bicycle racing, he began auto r ...

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Dario Resta Dario Resta (17 August 1882 – 3 September 1924), nicknamed "Dolly", was an Italian Briton race car driver. He was the winner of the 1916 Indianapolis 500. Early years Dario Resta was born in Faenza, Italy but was raised in England from the a ...

Johnny Aitken Johnny Aitken (May 3, 1885 – October 15, 1918) was an American racecar 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 19 ...

and

Howdy Wilcox Howard Samuel Wilcox (June 24, 1889 – September 4, 1923) was an American racecar driver active in the formative years of auto racing. Biography He was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana on June 24, 1889. Wilcox won the 1919 Indianapolis 500 ...

. The winner if the first Astor Cup car race in 1915 was

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 Indy Racing League, 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) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...

. 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, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

, it was first presented to

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...

on February 13, 2012, during the organisation's State of INDYCAR address at Hilbert Circle. 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)