Speedway Posters

1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print, measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches tall. Did a little Google search and found an awesome site with some great Washington State History. During its years of operation between 1912 and 1922, the Tacoma Speedway, located in Lakewood, hosted some of the big names of racing, rivaling the best in the world. The “Who’s Who” of races — “Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, Earl Cooper, Barney Oldfield, among others — left rubber on that track. Others left their lives. The grandstands closed in 1922, and the site is now (2004) home to Clover Park Technical College. Lakewood is a suburb of Tacoma.

1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print

The track was built by a group of Tacoma businessmen led by Arthur Pitchard, president of the Tacoma Automobile Association. They collected backers and built a five-mile, all-dirt track, which opened in 1912. The track ran around what is now Lakeview Avenue, where the grandstands stood, to Steilacoom Boulevard to Gravelly Lake Drive to 112th Street. The first races were held on July 5 and 6, 1912.

“Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, a famous racer of the day, was set to headline the first race that year. He was kidnapped days before the race, however, and held for ransom. Rumor has it he was held in a Tacoma brothel.

“When his bosses came to pick him up, he didn’t want to leave,” Herstad said.

The track changed quickly in those first few years. It shrunk to a 3.5-mile course in 1913, then in 1914 to a two-mile track. The shorter course was roughly what is now Steilacoom Boulevard and Gravelly Lake Drive to 100th, then back to Lakeview.

• Click here to buy the 1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print in the Amazon WebStore
• Click here to buy the 1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print in the eBay Store

1926 Tropical Island Speedway Poster Print

In 1925, Carl Fisher (who built the Indianapolis Speedway in 1909) was developing Miami Beach and envisioned this area as the winter auto racing capital of the world.  He built the world’s fastest 1-1/4 mile “boardtrack” (a wooden, oval race track). The outstanding features of the track were the 50 degree banked turns. Turns banked this steep required a speed of at least 110 miles per hour to keep the race car from sliding down into the infield.  The turns at today’s Daytona International Speedway are banked at only 32 degrees. In 1926, the Fulford-Miami Speedway held its first and only racing event attracting a crowd of 20,000 spectators, some of whom paid up to $15 for a box seat.  It was located at the northern end of Flagler Boulevard (NE 19th Avenue) in today’s Sky Lake neighborhood before being demolished in the hurricane of 1926.?

• click here to buy the 1926 Fulford- Miami Tropical Island Speedway Poster Print in the Amazon Webstore

Ralph Hepburn 1926 Tropical Island Speedway Miami Florida

Fulford-Miami Speedway. Ralph Hepburn has just won the pole for the February 22, 1926 300-mile race with a lap of 141.90mph. The car is a Miller Straight Eight. Barney Oldfield is on the left. Built by Carl Fisher (of Indianapolis Speedway fame), the 1-1/4 mile (with 50 degree banking!) Fulford-Miami Speedway  held only one race—the track was destroyed by a hurricane in September of 1926. Al Powell Collection.

View of Fulford-Miami Speedway from the crowd

This 1-1/4 mile board track was designed by Ray Harround and built for developer Carl Fisher in 1925. The AAA sanctioned race with a $30,000 purse was run before 20,000 people.  It was the world’s fastest wooden track due to the 50 degree banked turns.

1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print, measures 17 inches wide x 22 inches tall. Did a little Google search and found an awesome site with some great Washington State History.  During its years of operation between 1912 and 1922, the Tacoma Speedway, located in Lakewood, hosted some of the big names of racing, rivaling the best in the world. The “Who’s Who” of races — “Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, Earl Cooper, Barney Oldfield, among others — left rubber on that track. Others left their lives. The grandstands closed in 1922, and the site is now (2004) home to Clover Park Technical College. Lakewood is a suburb of Tacoma.

1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print

The track was built by a group of Tacoma businessmen led by Arthur Pitchard, president of the Tacoma Automobile Association. They collected backers and built a five-mile, all-dirt track, which opened in 1912. The track ran around what is now Lakeview Avenue, where the grandstands stood, to Steilacoom Boulevard to Gravelly Lake Drive to 112th Street. The first races were held on July 5 and 6, 1912.

“Terrible” Teddy Tetzlaff, a famous racer of the day, was set to headline the first race that year. He was kidnapped days before the race, however, and held for ransom. Rumor has it he was held in a Tacoma brothel.

“When his bosses came to pick him up, he didn’t want to leave,” Herstad said.

The track changed quickly in those first few years. It shrunk to a 3.5-mile course in 1913, then in 1914 to a two-mile track. The shorter course was roughly what is now Steilacoom Boulevard and Gravelly Lake Drive to 100th, then back to Lakeview.

• Click here to buy the 1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print in the Amazon WebStore
• Click here to buy the 1921 Tacoma Speedway Poster Print in the eBay Store