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. 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. The track's future was thwarted after track president Charlie Johnson reportedly ran off to Cuba with the track's proceeds.
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 Frontenac 1920 June 19 Tommy Milton Duesenberg September 6 Tommy Milton Duesenberg 1921 June 18 Roscoe Sarles Duesenberg September 5 I. P. Fetterman Duesenberg 1922 June 17 Jimmy Murphy Duesenberg-Miller
Shared drive
Year Date Winner Car 1946 August 25 Ted Horn Horn-Offy
See also Beverly Hills Speedway Tacoma Speedway AAA Contest Board American Championship car racing
References
External links Uniontown Speedway at the GEL Motorsport Information Page