Savannah's History of Car Racing

The 1908 Savannah Light Car Race.

Savannah is not always thought of as a sports town. But one sport had their beginnings here and another had one of its grandest events start here. As we have previously posted Savannah had the first golf game in the United States. But you may not know that Savannah had the first American Grand Prix Race. In fact for four years in the early twentieth century Savannah was the center of automobile racing.

New York had been chosen twice to host the Vanderbilt Cup. A prestigious racing event. But a rival group to the Vanderbilt Cup gang, the Automobile Club of America decided they wanted their own race. So they started an event to surpass the Vanderbilt Cup. Their cup would be silver too and be twice as valuable. It would be an international event to be held in, you guess it Savannah. It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1908.

Savannah used convict labor to prepare the race course, the National Guard of Georgia to protectd the course from non-racers, and the Savannah Automobile Club to run the event. The event attracted the best drivers and cars from around the world including 2 of the 4 previous Vanderbilt Cup winners (Victor Hemery and Louis Wagner) that year's French Grand Prix champion (Felice Nazzaro). The race ended with the closest top 3 finish in the history of the sport up to that minute. The tightness of the race and the conditions of the course made the race a huge and international success.

Because of its success Savannah not only wanted to host the Grand Prix race again they placed their eyes on wresting the Vanderbilt Cup from New York. The last Vanderbilt Cup had been a huge mess. People were constantly on the track, car wrecks were unusually frequent, and the track was muddy in places. Savannah seeing its opening sent a delegation to New York to propose Savannah as a new home for the event. The competition including Los Angeles and Indianapolis to name two. Yet Savannah won the honor and would host the 1911 Grand Prix and the Vanderbilt Cup to be held within three days of each other. Savannah would be the center of American racing.

Savannah began to work on the details of the races expanding the grandstands, working on transportation to the event, and perfecting the race course. The greatest field of drivers from around the world assembled to participate in the two events. The races were met with accolades. But the critics and competing cities began to point out flaws. Some said it was a great mistake to hold both big races at the same location so close together. This hurt the manufacturers getting cars ready as well as attendance. It also diminished the importance of the Vanderbilt Cup. Savannahians complained closing the roads for such a long period of time was taking away the increasing new car owners chances to hit the road themselves with their new purchases. Others protested the use of convict labor to prepare the course and the militia to patrol the race.

New York made a bid to return the Vanderbilt Cup back to their city to no avail. Bids from Los Angeles, Detroit, and Milwaukee came in. Milwaukee finally won the bid to host the event and thus ended Savannah’s run as the center of the racing world.

While the races were held Savannah started many racing traditions. They were the first race to have champagne poured over the winner's head. They were the first and only race to begin and end with a gunshot emulating horse racing. They were the first race in America to be patrolled by militia. They were the first entirely stock car race.

Savannah has never reached those heights again but in the late 1960’s until the mid 1980’s the Savannah Speedway held races with some of the greatest race car drivers in the sports history participating. The Savannah Speedway opened in 1962 as a 1/2 mile dirt oval track, The venue hosted ten Nascar Grand National events. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison were two of the winners. The track closed in 1981.

Today Savannah has an annual Speed Classic vintage racing once a year. One official said “It’s a point series of racing. What makes it fun for the general public is all the different kinds of cars out there. It’s interesting to see cars from the really old to the 1960s all the way up to the 1990s.” The cars are from the same era of Savannah’s Grand Prix and Vanderbilt Cup race cars. The host of the event is the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and Concours d’Elegance. The Savannah Speed Classic vintage sports car races run for three days in October.

On the three days of the race Savannah can hear the roar of the engines from Hutchinson Island and be reminded of a brief time when Savannah was the center of the racing world.

---