1916 Cincinnati Speedway Poster Print

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Track Location: Sharonville, Ohio, the track was proposed and construction begun in 1914. Local businessmen who where the financial bakers included Albert Lackman, R.K. LeBlond, George Wiedemann, William Welbon, L.J. Cooper, and Harry Shockly, the track was built by Harry Hake. The 2 mile Board Track opened September 4, 1916, and shut down in December of 1919. The staightaways were 70 ft. wide with turns that were banked 17 degrees, 33 degrees at the very top. The track was a near exact copy of the Chicago board track, and after closing and being abandoned in the early 1920′s, was dismantled and the lumber was shipped to Chillicothe, Ohio to be used in the construction of Camp Sherman during World War I. The site is currently ocupied by the U.S. Post office and other businesses.

The first race, September 4, 1916 was won by Johnny Aitken, who ran a 300 mile AAA sanctioned race at an average speed of 97.059 miles an hour, before a crowd estimated somewhere between 27,000 and 30,000. The winning car was a French Peugeot. With the 1917 Indianapolis 500 being cancelled due to the war, the Decoration Day (Memorial Day) classic was held at the Cincinnati Motor Speedway May 30, 1917. Fast time in qualifying was set by Ralph DePalma at 109 miles an hour. The race winner was Louis Chevrolet who averaged 102.18 miles an hour, finishing in 2 hours 26 minutes 47 seconds. The crowd was rumored to be 65,000, one of the largest sporting event crowds in Cincinnati history.
The last auto racing event was a 48 hour endurance race for Essex Automobiles held in December of 1919.
In August of 1919, discussions were held by several Cincinnati men who were both Stock Holders in the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Speedway, to possibly move the Reds home World Series games to the Cincinnati Speedway in Sharonville. The games, provided the Reds won the pennant, could be played in front of 100,000 people after the Speedway’s seating was arranged. The Reds eventually did win the World Series over the Chicago White Sox, but played all home games at Redland Field in Cincinnati.

Monday September 4, 1916 | 150 laps/300 miles 1st International Sweepstakes; Winner: John Aitken; Car: Peugeot #11
Pole position: Howard Wilcox
Fatalities : Riding Mechanic Bert Shields; Hometown: Unknown; Car: Stutz #5
Driver Gil Anderson, along with riding mechanic Bert Shields, were involved in a lap 84 accident that killed Shields and seriously injured Anderson.

1950 Grand Prix of Watkins Glen Program Poster Print. Measures 22 inches wide x 17 inches tall. A very cool print from the 50′s.Watkins Glen, New York, September 23, 1950. Very popular retro print. Looks fantastic matted and framed up.

Reading on Wikipedia the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix took place in 1948 on a 6.6 mile course over the local roads. The races passed through the heart of the town with spectators lined the sidewalks, but after a car left the road in the 1952 race, killing one spectator and injuring several others , the race was moved to a new location on a wooded hilltop southwest town.

1950 Grand Prix of Watkins Glen Program Poster Print

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