The American Grand Prize  1908-1916

Volume 2

by Dennis David   

When Saturday arrived the morning was clear and cool. Two strong European teams headed the entry list, that of Fiat and Benz. Fiat had top drivers Nazzaro, de Palma and Wagner while Benz countered with the legendary Hemery, Willie Haupt and David Bruce-Brown. The race started at nine o'clock in front of 60,000 spectators with the drivers departing at thirty second intervals. For the next six hours the race was a battle between Hemery in the Benz against the Fiats of Nazzaro, Wagner and de Palma. While the leaders battled, Bruce-Brown made steady progress and soon the race belonged to the two Benz teammates, Bruce-Brown and Hemery but who would it be. Bruce-Brown crossed the finish line first but based on time Hemery still had a chance to catch the young American. The veteran driver gave everything he had as he flashed across the line. The crowd waited for the official time keepers, and then it was announced that the young American had beaten the veteran Hemery by 1.42 seconds over a six hour race. Another American, Bob Burman came in third driving a Marquette-Buick.

The following year the Savannah organizers staged an even bigger event with the combination of the two supporting races and the Vanderbilt Cup on Monday, 27 November and the American Grand Prize on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, 30 November. The Grand Prize was again won by Bruce-Brown, this time driving a red Fiat.

The American Grand Prize of 1912 went undefended after the tragic death of David Bruce-Brown during practice. Both series were now held in Milwaukee. The race was won by Caleb Brag but only after a last lap brush with death that saw de Palma's Mercedes catapult off the road, resulting in serious injuries to the Italian born American. Both series for 1913 went by the boards but next year would see them both move across the continent to Santa Monica. The Vanderbilt Cup was held on the 26th of February and the winner was Ralph de Palma driving the legendary "Grey Ghost". The race saw the legendary duel between de Palma and his American rival, Barney Oldfield. Third place was taken by William Carlson driving a Mason, the forerunner of the famous Duesenbergs. The American Grand Prize was held two days later and won by rising star Eddie Pullen.

From Santa Monica north to San Francisco the events were held in conjunction with the Pan-Pacific Exposition both won by Dario Resta in a Peugeot. The last year the events were run saw the races return to Santa Monica with Resta again winning the American Grand Prize while the last Vanderbilt Cup was split by co-drivers Howard Wilcox and Gil Anderson.

And then it was over, the great City to City races, The Gordon Bennett, the Vanderbilt Cup and the American Grand Prize. The World War ended racing in Europe, the main proponents of road racing.   But only after the first generation of racing saw average speeds go from 15 mph to over 85 mph within 20 years. After the war the oval-tracks became the staple of American racing, a fact that continues to this day.