The Astor Cup Race was an American auto racing event, first run in 1915 at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway at Sheepshead Bay, New York. The winner's trophy (the Astor Challenge Cup) was donated by Vincent Astor, whose name and connections ensured the attendance of members of New York City's fashionable and wealthy elite.
1915 Owned by a group of Wall Street and other business investors, including Harry Harkness of Cleveland and Carl G. Fisher of Indianapolis, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation acquired the defunct horse racing facility known as the Sheepshead Bay Race Track (which had been owned by William Kissam Vanderbilt and Leonard Jerome's Coney Island Jockey Club). The purchase was completed in April 1915 and the first Astor Cup race was held on October 9 that year. Run over a two-mile (3 km) banked oval board track, the race was marred by the death of Harry Grant who died when his vehicle crashed during a practice run. Won by Gil Andersen in a Stutz, the first Astor Cup drew the top drivers from across the United States and Europe such as Ralph DePalma, Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker, Dario Resta, Johnny Aitken and Howdy Wilcox.
1916 The 1916 race was run on October 30, 1916, with Johnny Aitken winning and setting a speed record at 104 miles per hour.
The race ceased to exist after two years. Other auto races continued at the track until 1919. The Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties, following the January 1919 death of Harry Harkness. The property was sold for residential real estate development.
Race results
YearDateWinning driverCarRace distanceTime of raceWinning speed Miles Laps 1915 Oct 9 Gil Andersen Stutz 350 175 03:24:42 1916 Sept 30 Johnny Aitken Peugeot 250 125 02:23:04.03
Astor Challenge Cup The original cup from the 1915-16 races is now held by INDYCAR, LLC, which is a descendant of Fisher's Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and both are now owned by Roger Penske. Two cylindrical black granite bases have been added displaying the names of all the AAA, USAC, CART, and IndyCar series winners since 1909, including the winners of the ceremonial Gold Crown championship which only consisted of one race, as well as those of 1909-1915 and 1917-1919, which were not championship points-awarding seasons. The two granite bases are not permanently attached to the trophy, and are rarely seen with it when the trophy tours. This makes it possible for it to be picked up and held by its winner.
On October 12, 2011, INDYCAR, LLC announced that the Astor Challenege Cup would be presented annually as the new championship trophy for the IndyCar Series. It was first presented to Dario Franchitti on February 13, 2012, during the organisation's State of INDYCAR address at Hilbert Circle Theatre. The winning driver and team owner are each presented with a scaled replica of the trophy during official INDYCAR business meetings. Since 2012, the trophy has been presented after the final race of the season.
Astor Challenge Cup recipients (IndyCar drivers champions)
Year Winning driver Car Team Report IndyCar National Champions 2011 Dario Franchitti Dallara-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing report 2012 Ryan Hunter-Reay Dallara-Chevrolet Andretti Autosport report 2013 Scott Dixon Dallara-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing report 2014 Will Power Dallara-Chevrolet Team Penske report 2015 Scott Dixon Dallara-Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing report 2016 Simon Pagenaud Dallara-Chevrolet Team Penske report 2017 Josef Newgarden Dallara-Chevrolet Team Penske report 2018 Scott Dixon Dallara-Honda Chip Ganassi Racing report 2019 Josef Newgarden Dallara-Chevrolet Team Penske report2020 Scott DixonDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport2021 Álex PalouDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport2022 Will PowerDallara-ChevroletTeam Penskereport2023 Álex PalouDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport2024 Álex PalouDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport2025 Álex PalouDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport2026 Álex PalouDallara-HondaChip Ganassi Racingreport
References
Sources
http://www.champcarstats.com Galpin, Darren; A Record of Motorsport Racing Before World War I. Harry S. Harkness dies of Influenza, The New York Times, January 24, 1919
External links Website for the 1915 Astor Cup race & Sheepshead Bay race details (Site contains newspaper articles and an excellent collection of photos)