Uniontown Speedway

Uniontown Speedway

Location	Hopwood, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°52′38″N79°42′39″W / 39.87722°N 79.71083°W / 39.87722; -79.71083 }
Opened	1916
Closed	1922
Major events	Universal Trophy Liberty Sweepstakes Autumn Classic AAA Championship Car
Board (1916–1922)
Surface	Wood
Length	1.125 miles (1.8 km)
Banking	34°
Dirt (1946–?)
Surface	Dirt
Length	.5 miles (.805 km)

Construction of the Uniontown Speedway in 1916

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.

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 Boyer A	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

Year	Date	Winner	Car
1946	August 25	Ted Horn	Horn-Offy
[8] [9]

See also

• Beverly Hills Speedway
• Tacoma Speedway
• AAA Contest Board
• American Championship car racing

References

1. McGuinness, Marci (2009). Uniontown Speedway Program, 1916: Preliminary Opening Race. Shore Publications. p. 7. ISBN   978-0938833291.
2. "Auto Racer and Aid Killed" (PDF). The New York Times . November 28, 1916. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
3. "Auto Racer Kills Two at Uniontown Track" (PDF). The New York Times . December 3, 1916. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
4. McGuinness, Marci. "108 Years of Racing History - Never Before Seen Board Track Photos". www.uniontownspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
5. "Universal Studios Trophy - Uniontown Board Speedway". The First Superspeedway. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
6. "Fetterman Scores In Uniontown Race. Averages 99.8 Miles an Hour Capture 225-Mile Auto Classic on Speedway. Murphy Finishes Second. Is Less Than Two Minutes Behind the Winner, With Sarles Third and Miller Fourth". The New York Times . September 6, 1921. Retrieved 2012-10-03. I. P. Fetterman of Pittsburgh today won to Autumn classic at the Automobile Speedway ...
7. "Uniontown Speedway". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
8. "Uniontown Speedway". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
9. "AAA Sprint Car Race". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.

External links

• Uniontown Speedway at the GEL Motorsport Information Page