Uniontown Speedway
Former motorsports track in Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uniontown Speedway was a wooden board track in Hopwood, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The track was built in 1916, after the Summit Mountain Hill Climbs were outlawed, and held its final race in June 1922. The May/June race was known as the Universal Trophy, so named because Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Films, had sponsored the $3,000, solid silver trophy.[1] Laemmle's company filmed each race, playing them at local theaters. Two National Championship races were held at Uniontown, in 1921 and 1922.
| Location | Hopwood, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°52′38″N 79°42′39″W} |
| Opened | 1916 |
| Closed | 1922 |
| Major events | Universal Trophy Liberty Sweepstakes Autumn Classic AAA Championship Car |
| Board (1916–1922) | |
| Surface | Wood |
| Length | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
| Banking | 34° |
| Dirt (1946–?) | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 0.500 mi (.805 km) |
History
Motorsport was extremely dangerous in the days of the board tracks, but the inaugural race at Uniontown on December 2, 1916 was an especially bloody event, even for the standards of the day. Two were killed (a driver and his riding mechanic) during practice a few days prior, and five (two spectators and three participants) died during the race.[2][3][4] The track's future was thwarted after track president Charlie Johnson reportedly ran off to Cuba with the track's proceeds.[5]
A second Uniontown Speedway, adjacent to the original site, was active in 1946, as a half-mile (.805 km) dirt track. It held a National Championship-level sprint car race won by Ted Horn.
AAA Championship Car results
Non-championship races in italics
| Year | Date | Winner | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | December 2 |  Louis Chevrolet |
Frontenac |
| 1917 | May 10 | William Taylor |
Stutz-Wisconsin |
| September 3 | Frank Elliott |
Delage | |
| October 29 | Eddie Hearne |
Duesenberg | |
| 1918 | May 16 | Ralph Mulford |
Frontenac |
| July 18 | Louis Chevrolet |
Frontenac | |
| September 2 | Ralph Mulford |
Frontenac | |
| 1919 | May 19 | Tommy Milton |
Duesenberg |
| July 19 | Tommy Milton |
Duesenberg | |
| September 1 | Gaston Chevrolet / Joe BoyerA |
Frontenac | |
| 1920 | June 19 | Tommy Milton |
Duesenberg |
| September 6 | Tommy Milton |
Duesenberg | |
| 1921 | June 18 | Roscoe Sarles |
Duesenberg |
| September 5 | I. P. Fetterman[6] |
Duesenberg | |
| 1922 | June 17 | Jimmy Murphy |
Duesenberg-Miller |
| [7] | |||
- ^A Shared drive