The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-10-17
ALL EYES FIXED
ON BIG RACE FOR
VANDERBILT CUP
Twenty Autos Entered for
Classic Contest on Long ISL
and Next Saturday.

The next event of great Importance
in the motor racing world and n of
universal interest will be the Wander
bilt cup race, which will be, held on the
Long Island motor parkway next Sat
urday.
It is not alone the motoring public
that Is talking of the big racing classic,
but the entire country is waiting I'M
patiently for the event to be started
and the indications are that all at
tendance records will be broken. The
grand-stand seats have Ions ago been
sold out and the parking spaces are at
a premium. The outpouring of en-
thusiasts by the thousands Is proof
positive of the enormou popularity OF
this great struggle for tho cup.
Yet the Vanderbilt race had a very
modest beginning indeed, and there is
no better proof of the great strides
the motor vehicle has made In eff
cheney and interest than that afforded
by this race.
Eight years ago a great" road race
was held on Long island. The course
was fifty miles and there were nine
entrants, of which six survived. the
winner proving to be A. l.. Riker with
Ia 5-horsepower electric racing car.
This proved to be the beginning of the
great racing events and out of it
eventually sprung the Vanderbilt cur
struggle.
William K. Vanderbilt, .jr., was one
of the early enthusiasts Of the new
sport and took part in many events,
becoming one of the prominent figures
of the motoring world. In 1904, Mr..
Vanderbilt offered The famous cup thai
bears his name, for an internationa
road race, which should be u under
the direction of the American Auto
mobile Association, which had beer
formed some two years previous. The
first race for the new cup took place
on Long Island October s, 1904, and
was won by Heath, driving a Panhard
with a Clement car second.
The new race jumped into instant
favor with motorists and the genera
public alike, and when the second Van
derbilt cup race was run a year later II
was seen that this event had taken G
firm hold as one of the great races o.
the automobile world. The 1905 rac'
was won by Hemery In a Darracqe
with Heath's Panhard in second place.
Both here and abroad the race at
itracted wide interest and attention, ent
the 1905 meeting was looked forward
to with enthusiasm by the public. Th'
race of that year was a magnifcen'
struggle, a Darracq again proving to b.
the winner, with Wagner at the wheel
A Fiat car took second honors.
Unfortunately, there were several &C
lcidents at this meet, caused by venture
some spectators taking chances b.
crossing the course. One man wa
killed. This led h managers of tn
race to declare that no further race
should be held, unless over a special.
} laid-out course. which should be thor
oughy patrolled and guarded. 1t wa
impossible to obtain such a course II
1907, so no Vanderbilt race was he'll
that year, but the Long Island Moto
Parkway Association was organized b,
'lMr. Vanderbilt, and under it's supervi
sion work was started on the splendi'
motor parkway over which this year
! race viii be held.
For next Saturdays event twenty car
have been entered, of which thrice
are OF American make, three OF Germa'
manufacture, three of French make an
/, one italian car. The attendance an
interest promises to surpass that OF a
other previous years.