Vanderbilt Cup Races

The 1906 Course

Louis Wagner won the 10 laps of the 297 mile 1906 course in his #10 100 H.P. Darracq in 4 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds, roughly about 30 minutes per lap in 1906. Race cars were traveling at a rate of about a mile a minute.

Could this time be duplicated on the same roads today?

First was to pick a proper course to duplicate. The course in question should have the most roads still intact, so the 1908/09/10 were eliminated due to a large portion of the course being on the now gone Motor Parkway. 1904 used a simple course that for the most part, only used 3 uninteresting roads leaving the 2 similar 1905 & 1906 courses for consideration. Personally liking the Manhasset turn, 1906 it is!

Of course, (pun intended) comparisons from then to today are apples to oranges, but that was the point. Setting out in our trusty VW ‘race car’, myself and mechanician, photographer and official timer, Gram Spina found ourselves on the Jericho Tpke Start/Finish line to outrun Louis Wagner.

Three complete laps of the course we’re in order.

Lap 1- Get to know the route and photograph key locations and turns.

Lap 2- Timed total run including traffic lights

Lap 3- Traffic lights didn’t exist on the 1906 course, so timing was paused at each traffic light to eliminate the idle moments to more closely resemble what a non-stop lap could look like with today’s traffic congestion and infrastructure.

Some 'Then' images maybe from the 1904/05 races, but the locations are the same.

’Now’ photos Courtesy of Gram Spina except where noted.

Start/Finish Line on Jericho Tpke

Then: Hitchcock’s horse track was again the site of the Start/Finish line with the grandstands and press box located at the Jericho Tpke location in Old Westbury.

Now: Our modified, trusty VW ‘race car’ with 375 H.P. at the starting line location. Surely enough horsepower over Wagner’s 100 H.P. Darracq, but Wagner didn’t have to contend with Long Island drivers and congestion of today. Can the extra power compensate for modern road conditions?

Then: Looking West at the grandstands and press box

Now: A bit wider than Wagner would have remembered.

Then: A 1904 look East at the John Allen residence. 1904 grandstands under construction at the same location.

Now: John Allen’s home has been replaced with a Speedway gas station today. Appropriate name for the gas station on the course.

The East Norwich Turn at Oyster Bay Rd and Northern Blvd

Then: Traveling east on Jericho eventually brought the racers of yesterday and today to route 106 where they turned northward towards East Norwich and it’s tight left hand on to Northern Boulevard.

Felice Nazzaro rounding the turn in 1906.

Now: A white BMW ‘race car’ hot on Nazzaro’s tail.

Bull's Head Turn at Northern Blvd onto Glen Cove Rd.

Then: A few miles travel west on Northern Boulevard brought the racers to the popular and difficult Bull’s Head turn in Greenvale.

The White steamer rounding the turn in the 1905 race.

Now: Another racer from the German BMW race team right behind White.

On Glen Cove Rd

Then: On Glen Cove Road looking south, known then as simply 'Back Road'.
 

The entrance to the dairy farm on the Mackay Estate down on the right. Spring Hill is on the left.

Now: The Mackay Dairy Barn entrance is now Elm Drive where the Dairy Man’s Cottage is still located and is a private residence.

(Image Google earth)

Then: Back Road (Glen Cove Road)  as seen looking north towards Bull’s Head (Greenvale).

Now: Telephone poles still on the right.

Then: The White steamer passing the white fence of the  Mackay Estate in 1905.

Now: Red truck in the exact location as the White steamer in 1905.

The Old Westbury Hairpin Turn

Then: Veering left on to Red Ground Road from Glen Cove Rd took the racers to the right-hand Old Westbury Hairpin Turn.

Then (2009): The house at #1 Wheatley was still standing at the turn.

Now: Red Ground Road of today no longer carries cars to Wheatley Road, but instead straight to its termination at the LIE service road, so a slight modern course modification was made to view the hairpin of today. Sadly, the original #1 Wheatley house has been demolished.

The Train Trestle and Power Station on Old Westbury Rd./Powerhouse Rd.

Then: On Old Westbury Road traveling west again, the next landmark racers would see was the LIRR trestle overhead.

View looking East.

Now: The site of the power plant along the south side of Old Westbury Rd is still a utility yard for National Grid 117 years later.

From Old Westbury Rd on to Mineola Ave.

Then: Slightly west of the trestle was the right turn bringing racers northward on Mineola Blvd from Old Westbury Road.

Now: The west corner of the intersection today at the service road of the LIE. Mineola Boulevard’s curve matching the old photo.

Left Turn from Mineola Blvd on to Northern Blvd.

Then: A short sprint north on Mineola Boulevard brought the racers back to Northern Boulevard with a left turn to the west again.

Now: Looking south at the intersection shows the same house (recently expanded) and the home’s renovated retaining wall, but the telephone poles switched sides on today’s Old Northern Blvd.

Intersection of Northern Blvd and Community Dr (Then known as Hyde Park Rd.)

Then: A miles long straightaway would lead to the big dip and turn in Manhasset where big crowds gathered in front of Schneider’s Hotel.

Now: The intersection of Northern Boulevard and Community Drive today.
Where motorists stayed at Schneider’s overnight to watch the morning race is now a body shop where motorists fix their vehicles.

Now 1/18/2023 Update,

The Schneider Hotel location still exists, not as the body shop location as originally thought, but, as part of this commercial business building today.

From Ken Lockhart;

“This is fabulous! On your views of Old Northern Blvd meeting Community Drive in Manhasset, the “Today” photo does show the old Schneider Hotel building. Stripped of its porch, it is the white building well left of center with the cupola on the roof & the 4 windows on the second floor. My Great Uncle Harry Schneider was the proprietor during the 1920’s-30’s. It was built as a stop on the stage coach line from down Northern Blvd from Flushing, which later became the Trolley Line.”

This photo from today confirms that Schneider’s Hotel still exists as ‘Home Theater of Long Island’.

Northern Blvd in Spinney Hill, Great Neck

Then: There’s a little bit of a debate as to where the exact location of the Manhasset grandstands were.

Now: But my best educated guess as to location was just at the top of the curving incline of Northern Boulevard.

Update 1/17/23; the actual grandstand location discovered HERE

Left Turn from Northern Blvd on to Lakeville Rd.

Then: Racers passed through Spinney Hill  to then turn left from Northern Boulevard on to Lakeville Road where Locomobile had their headquarters.

Now: A fairly quiet intersection in 1906 became one of the busiest intersections of today with 3 gas stations and a large medical building on the 4 corners.

Travelling south on Lakeville Road brought racers to the I.U. Willets Road  left turn which posed a slight problem with following the course today.

The Missing Section of I.U. Willets

With the exception of the small section of Red Ground Road in Old Westbury that directly led to the Hairpin Turn, the only other missing section of the 1906 course was a 2-mile section of I.U. Willets Road. 

I.U. Willets ran directly into Lakeville Rd in 1906, but thanks to the construction of the Northern State and Long Island Expressway, it no longer exists. Our plan was to use the LIE service road to Shelter Rock Rd turning right, head south for a 1/2 mile and making a left to meet up with I.U. Willets on the course. It turned out to be the exact distance needed to retain the course length.

The I.U. Willets 'S' Turn

Then: After a few miles on I.U. Willets Road, racers turned right on to Willis Ave on their way to Krug’s Hotel at the next turn at Jericho Turnpike.

In 1906, the racers didn’t get to experience the ‘S’ turn immediately to the east of the Willis Ave turn like the 1905 racers did…

Now:…but the ‘S’ turn still exists in nearly its exact footprint in 2023.

Krug's Corner at Willis Ave and Jericho Tpke

Then: No doubt one of the most popular locations for viewing the Vanderbilt Cup Races was Krug’s Hotel at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Willis Avenue.

Now: No trace of the popular hotel exists today at another one of Long Island’s busiest intersections.

Krug's and 136 Jericho Tpke.

Then: However, there is still one structure that has survived the years

Now: The structure at 136 Jericho Turnpike on the opposite corner of Krug’s still stands housing Atlantic Travel with a slightly updated facade.

The Finish Line

Then: Fred Wagner waving the checkered flag for Wagner in 1906. The first time a checkered flag was ever documented being used to signify the winner of a race.

Sadly, we didn’t get to experience Fred waving the new checkered flag for us.

Despite slight course deviations, we were only off by 1/10 of a mile at the finish line.

29.7 mile original course was  29.8 for us.

Lap Times

Lap 2: Traffic lights added an incredible amount of time in the course attempt. About 25 minutes of sitting idle at various lights.

Lap 3;

Eliminating the lights revealed that we made it around the modern iteration of the course in just over 15 minutes more than Wagner. We averaged 39 miles per hour as compared to Wagner's  62.7 miles per hour. So we didn’t beat him despite the horsepower increase, but still close considering the congestive road environment of today.

Thanks to mechanician, photographer and timer Gram Spina for his assistance in the attempt to beat Wagner!