The origins of Sprint Car racing

Re the Tahuna Track post
PS
In the first photo that David posted of No 77 you can see in the back ground the stop bank that was put up to kept the high tide off the track during the 2 day meeting. This was not always required

Originally posted by David McKinney
While Peter’s completing his image-posting instruction course...

This is his car, at “home” at Tahuna Beach, soon after he bought it


A later picture, taken at a Historic meeting around 1983


Neil Stuart, who helped build Peter’s car, also had one of his own. Between them, they dominated Tahuna racing for many years

WOW ! Some great photo's there . So you actually competed in the car Pete ? At first I thought you were just puttering about at a nostalgia meet , but I take it the first photo was during actual competition , what year was it ? And is that a flat-head Ford motor I see in it ? Again , great stuff there .

As mentioned before, the term "sprint race" is omnipresent in the thirties, but in 1940 the Altamont Enterprise went one further:

Saratoga couty (sic!) fair grounds at Ballston Spa will introduce sanctioned AAA class A auto races in northern New York for the first time when the Eagle Matt Lee Fire Company No. 1 will present a card of eastern AAA sprint auto races Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, in which thirty leading drivers of the country will compete.

That's the closest thing to "sprint car" I have found so far, pre WW2!

Hi REDARMYSOLA
Sorry I have not answered your question earlier but just picked up the thread again, Yes it did have a Flathead Ford V8 in it. I did race it in open competition from 1965 to 1973. I then built and raced a Chev V8 powered super modified. I have since then "puttered around" at a few historic events. I gave it a run two week ends ago at the local speedway, the first time out in it for about ten years
Pete

Originally posted by Peter Leversedge
Hi REDARMYSOLA
Sorry I have not answered your question earlier but just picked up the thread again, Yes it did have a Flathead Ford V8 in it. I did race it in open competition from 1965 to 1973. I then built and raced a Chev V8 powered super modified. I have since then "puttered around" at a few historic events. I gave it a run two week ends ago at the local speedway, the first time out in it for about ten years
Pete

Sounds like great fun Pete . I love those flatheads . I came very close to buying an old 70's vintage Laverne Nance Super Modified a couple of years ago to "putter about" at historic shows myself . I'm still kicking myself for not going thru with the deal .

Originally posted by fines
As mentioned before, the term "sprint race" is omnipresent in the thirties, but in 1940 the Altamont Enterprise went one further:
That's the closest thing to "sprint car" I have found so far, pre WW2!

Fine work Mr fines !

Hang on to your socks, gentlemen, I have found a pre-WW2 mention of the term "sprint car" in the correct context.

Ignore those funnily dressed gents, and scroll down...



Sorry about the size, but I wanted to include the masthead in order to prove it's kosher! The relevant article is here (î), bottom right.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 13 July 2012 - 19:56.

And another "sprint auto race", this time from 1933: