}

UniontownPennsylvaniaBoardTrack1916Construction

Uniontown Speedway was a wooden board track in Hopwood, near

Uniontown, Pennsylvania Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...

. 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 Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

, president of

Universal Films Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, had sponsored the $3,000, solid silver trophy. Laemmle's company filmed each race, playing them at local theaters. Two

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

races were held at Uniontown, in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

History

Motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

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. 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 Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

race won by

Ted Horn Ted Horn (February 27, 1909 – October 10, 1948), born Eylard Theodore Von Horn, was an American racecar driver. He won the AAA National Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and collected 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place ...

AAA Championship Car results

Non-championship races in ''italics'' : Shared drive

References

External links

Uniontown Speedway
at the GEL Motorsport Information Page Sports venues completed in 1916 Motorsport venues in Pennsylvania Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Uniontown, Pennsylvania 1916 establishments in Pennsylvania 1922 disestablishments in Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-sport-stub

History

AAA Championship Car results

See also

References

External links