A Visit to the Newport Mansions Reveals Some Automo�ve History
By ELISSA DELUCA
On a brisk day in Newport I just thought I was going to go tour the beautiful mansions for Christmas. Surprise! While touring the mansions I came upon some photos of Mr. Vanderbilt with a race car. I was intrigued to find out that Mr. Vanderbilt (William Kissam Vanderbilt II, the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt) was a car enthusiast and I said to myself I have to get more information... Mr. Vanderbilt was known to his friends as Willie, who loved sports but even more he loved driving fast-paced cars. In 1904 he set a new land speed record while driving his Mercedes. He was clocked at 92.30mph at the Daytona Beach Road Course in Florida. The Daytona Beach Road Course was a
location where fifteen world land speed records were set.
race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the
That year Mr. Vanderbilt had founded the first auto racing event, The Vanderbilt Cup. An international event, it was first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused considerable controversy in New York, bringing a flood
of legal actions in an attempt to stop the race. The politicians soon jumped in, holding public hearings on the issue. Vanderbilt prevailed and the inaugural race was run over a 30.24 miles course of winding dirt roads through the Nassau County area. The lure of winning a major trophy with a large cash prize attracted drivers from all across the Atlantic region. His races would draw in crowds that were so large that it became problematic. The crowd sizes got so bad and out of control that a spectator was killed in 1906. He realized that he would have to improve safety issues for his races to continue. So in 1907 he founded a corporation that would build his Long Island Motor Parkway, a multi-million-dollar toll highway. Starting construction in 1908, the 48 mile distance would run from Queens County to Nassau. Unfortunately in 1938 the Parkway was forced to close and the land given back to the county governments in lieu of $80,000 in back taxes. Mr. Vanderbilt never made a penny on his Parkway. By 1938 the parkway had become pretty much obsolete. If you’re lucky you might be able to find some strips of dirt that are well overgrown and paved lots that are a mystery, wondering if this was part of the Parkway. At left, remnant of Long Island Motor Parkway circa 2008 at Springfield Boulevard in Queens NY, looking East. (Some information and photos in this article sourced from Wikipedia)
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