The Fulford–Miami Speedway was a AAA Championship Car wood race track located in

North Miami Beach, Florida North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City of North Miami Beach is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after ...

. It was the first speedway built in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. The track was built in 1925 by

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

co-founder Carl Fisher, who was also developing the city. To help build the track, Fisher hired

1911 Indianapolis 500 The 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. It was the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500, which is one of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, most prestigious automob ...

winner Ray Harroun, who also served as general manager of the track. The track's banking was at 50°, and as a result, cars had to drive at a speed of in order to remain on the track without sliding off. In comparison, the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

's banking is 31°. Because of the speed the track's configuration produced, the track was considered as the fastest in the world. The track held only one event, the Carl G. Fisher Trophy in the 1926 AAA Championship Car season. The race was 240 laps and , and was held on February 22, 1926, with a crowd of 20,000. The race's official starter was

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 ...

. The

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

was won by

Tommy Milton Thomas Willard Milton (November 14, 1893 – July 10, 1962) was an American racing driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. In spite of having only one functional eye, Milton came to be known as one of the finest ra ...

with a lap speed of , while the race was won by 1925 Indianapolis 500 winner Peter DePaolo, with Harry Hartz finishing second, less than a minute behind. Out of the 19 cars competing, only six finished the race. On September 17, 1926, the track was destroyed by the Great Miami Hurricane; the lumber that comprised the track's surface was scattered across the neighborhood, and was later, after being recovered, used by the city for reconstruction. After its destruction, the area was taken over by the Presidential County Club.

did not have a major auto race again until 1983, when the Grand Prix of Miami was held on a street circuit in downtown

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Two years later, open wheel racing returned when

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

used a street course at Tamiami Park for their season finale, the Beatrice Indy Challenge.

References

External links

1926 Carl G. Fisher Trophy
results at ChampCarStats {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford-Miami Speedway Motorsport venues in Florida Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Event venues established in 1926 Sports venues in Miami North Miami Beach, Florida 1926 establishments in Florida 1926 disestablishments in Florida