The World’s Richest Race

For decades, racing fans around the world have continually debated which country or teams had the best drivers and cars. There have been several special events held over the years in an attempt to decide this issue. Perhaps the earliest was The Gordon Bennett Trophy Races (1900–1905) contested in Europe, followed by the Vanderbilt Cup (1904–1910) contested over the streets of Long Island, New York. Both series included cars and drivers from many countries who raced for trophies, glory and large cash prizes.

Over 25 years later, the Vanderbilt Cup races reappeared in 1936 and 1937, this time, held on a proper race course, the Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island. Teams from Ferrari, Mercedes, Auto Union and Alfa Romeo competed along with their well-known drivers including Farina, Nuvolari, Seaman, Caracciola and Rosemeyer. Unfortunately, the European cars and drivers dominated the races and with a lack of competitive American-made cars, there was declining interest in the series. With everyone’s attention turned elsewhere as World War II was looming in Europe, the series ended and the course was turned into a horse racetrack. International road racing would not return to the United States for several more years.