Champ Car Philadelphia street circuit 2006?

[Rob29]

Found it!
Oct 10 1908-1st Founder's Day Cup race-Fairmount Park.Philadelphia,Pa. 25 laps,7.8ml course 195ml Road Race-George Robinson 'Locomobile' 4h 2m 30s 49.5mph
Oct 9 1909 circuit lengthened to 8.1ml
Oct 8 1910 8ml.
Oct 9 1911 8.1ml

[Lustigson]

Cool, Rob! I'd sure love to see pictures of that!

[Rob29]

Details from 'American Automobile Racing' by Albert R.Bochroch.Only one photo of Fairmount. 'October 1911 saw the finnish of a fine series of races in Phillidelphia.For four years the Quaker City Motor Club had staged annual Founder's Day raes in Philipelphia's Fairmount Park. Spectators,estimated by the Phillidelphia police and local newspapers to have exceeded 400,000 were well behaved but Mayor Rayburn after first supporting the project mounted vigorous opposition'

[Jam35]

Originally Posted by Chaynes321

jam can ya send us the image cause i cant see it

Okay, I've just sent it to the Hotmail address on your profile.

Oh, and I'm glad everyone else liked my totally unrealistic track!

[Lustigson]

I might post a question about the 1908 race on The Nostalgia Forum at Autosport-Atlas. Any of you guys familiar with that Forum? Those guys know everything.

[Lustigson]

Jim Thurman posted the following in the thread "This Date In Auto Racing" on Autosport-Atlas:

"OCTOBER 8, 1910 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA... Len Zengle drove his Chadwick to victory in the 3rd annual 'Founder's Day Race' on the 8 mile Fairmount Park course. Zengle averaged 57.8 mph for the 200 mile race."

... and:

"1908 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA...Bypassing the tune up race on the upcoming Vanderbilt Cup course, George Robertson won the 195 mile 'Founder's Cup' on a 7.8 mile course through Fairmount Park. Robertson averaged 49.5 mph in a 40 hp Locomobile in front of an estimated crowd of 400,000."

[EERO]

Not to be a stickler, but Fairmount Park is to the Northwest of the City Center and the Liberty Bell is not at Logan Circle. Logan Circle does sport the Roman Catholic Cathedral, The Franklin Institute and a Four Season's Hotel.

Lustigon'ts second scheme seems to be a reasonable possibility, but the loop around the rear of the Museum is not wide enough to sustain racing and has a nasty drop to the Schuykill River below.

There was a important Bike race through the 80's in philly that used a loop on the Ben Franklin Parkway, Logan Circle and City Hall then nNorthwest again again into Fairmonunt Park.

BTW, in the 70's, Jack Kelly, the brother of the late Princess Grace of Monaco and a naitve of Philly, proposed an F1 race in Fairmount Park.

[Lustigson]

Hi Eero, could you draw that 80s bike track for us, so we'd have an idea as to where we could work on?

[EERO]

Here's alink to the course map:
http://www.procyclingtour.com/course_map.cfm/race_id/6

Its a 14 mile lap: At the lower right is Logan Circle the next loop is around the Art Museum. To the Northwest of the Art Museum, the course travels in both directions along the Schuykill on the Parkwat. I think it might be possible to to make a decent 2-3 mile lap along the Parkway and the museum an a quick loop into the Park.

The attatched image is shot from above Logan Circle looking Northwest to the Art Museum. As you can see, Benjamin Franklin Parkway is very wide and there are access roads to either side. Cars could run along it in both directions.


The Second View is from the lower steps of the Art Museum looking Southeast along the parkway through Logan Circle/, The Second Empire style tower in the center is City Hall at the very center of the City.