Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: The Hot Rods of Splinter Alley Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Judging by the size of the track /crowd, I'd take an educated guess that this footage was shot at Altoona Speedway . . . a 1.25 mile track in Tipton, Pennsylvania that was in operation from 1923 thru 1931. That stated, I suppose it could have been at one of the following 1/2 mile tracks: Akron-Cleveland Speedway in Northhampton Township, Ohio (1926 - 1930) Pittsburg-Bridgeville Speedway in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania (1929 - 1930) Woodbridge Speedway in Woodbridge, New Jersey (1929 - 1931)
I wrote a quick short story inspired by an old photo of a crash on the 'boards- DEATH ON THE BOARDS A breeze blows across the inner field, and I can smell the scent of fresh grass, alfalfa. Mixed in is the scent of oil, gasoline and blood. I stare at the blinding blue skies. I hear the announcer shrieking. It can not end like this. I hoped for more. Damn.
WOW......what an era !! Look at the size of the grandstands and the size of the crowd. Looks like the cars were certainly not low budget specials. To my untrained eye, it sure looks like there were some early Millers in the field. Not sure just what was going on with women flailing on the ground in the dirt and dust ??
So good. Footage has so much to see. Front drive Millers, baseball, steam trains, and the happy family enjoying life. Thanks for the pleasant view into the past.
Yes, there were a bunch of Millers in the pack, I believe the cars in this race were running 91 cu in engines with superchargers. I think the race may have been run in 1927. Using “The Miller Dynasty” by Mark Dees for a reference I’ve tried to ID some of the cars. At 1:43 is Leon Duray, #12, then at 1:50 and other times in the film is Dave Lewis, #7, winner of the event. Earl Cooper is in the #5 car at 1:52, Harry Hartz, #1 at 2:15 and Cliff Bergere, #24 at 2:46. Lewis’ car has a scoop on the cowl, his Miller had a rear mounted centrifugal blower. Earlier Millers had the blowers at the front of the engine but being close to the radiator the inlet charge was heated hurting HP output.
Thank you.....thank you for the great observations and research. Thanks for reminding me to find my Miller books somewhere on my basement shelves and make use of them during the coming dark days of winter !! Also.....I think there is a board track book there somewhere.
More HAMBers should see this film. It's such an unusually good glimpse into the '20's scene. Love those 91s, 250bhp and capable of 171mph ! https://www.secret-classics.com/en/automotive-art-22-miller-91/
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