The Packard Gray Wolf- One of America’s First Lightweight Racers
One of the five American entries in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race was the 30-HP lightweight dirt-track Packard Gray Wolf. Driven by its designer Charles Schmidt, the first Packard racer had previously set one-mile and five-mile records in January 1904.
The Gray Wolf at the Westbury starting line. William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. can be seen at the far right in the fur coat.
Shown stopped at the Hempstead Control, the small Packard Gray Wolf proved surprisingly durable and was in fourth position when the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race ended.
See the #16 Packard Gray Wolf taking the Massapequa Turn on to Hempstead Turnpike during the 1904 race at the 1:01 mark of this American Mutoscope & Biograph film:
In the May 1974 issue of Road and Track author Don Fostle wrote this comprehensive article on the Packard Gray Wolf.
Links to related posts on VanderbiltCupRaces.com
Archives: 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race
Peter Helck’s Packard Gray Wolf Cover Painting for The Packard Cormorant
Comments
What a great piece of history. I was recently on a piece of the old roadway by Winchester Blvd. and Union Tpk. in Queens and seen the old concrete roadway. Amazing!!! Piece of Long Island history