Vanderbilt Cup Races

This is one of my favorite photos discovered in the personal archives of William K. Vanderbilt Jr. at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum.

In addition to car manufacturers, tire companies like Michelin positioned service stations around the Vanderbilt Cup Race courses. These crews supported the teams that used their products and went into action if there were tire failures during the race. Like the above Michelin men during the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race, the crews typically wore distinctive wool sweaters with their company names.