THIS & THAT
SAVANNAH LIGHT CAR RACES 1908 & 1997
By Virginia Close

Recently, I went on a combination bus (3400 mi.) and boat (?) tour to
Florida and the Grand Bahamas via Hilton Head, Jekyll Island and
central Florida. On Grand Bahama Island, I noticed four
different-colored license plates: the usual passenger car, livery,
commercial. However, the tour bus which took us "to see the Island"
had a special license which allowed him to tour only the Freeport
area; about 30 sq. miles. The Island is 530 sq. miles.

Cars are an expensive item. Gasoline is $2.40/gal. (still not as
expensive as overseas); import duty on automobiles is 40% to 60% of
the value of the car. Needless to say, there are a lot of old
cars. Some with multicolored body parts. Also, many very expensive
cars for very expensive houses. Plus a multitude of Limos to get
people to the casinos! I did see one IROC Police Car - most definitely
NOT the average police car - and, Jim, a beautiful white Citroen sedan
(1970's).

Throughout the South, there were pamphlets and posters advertising the
Inaugural Dixi Crystals Grand Prix at Savannah Harbor; a 2-mile,
10-turn course on Hutchinson Island scheduled for May 16-18th,
1997. This race is one of a 12-race series for the 1997 PPG-Firestone
Indy Lights Championship. The advertising states that it is the "most
exciting racing weekend to hit Savannah since 1908! That is when
Savannah hosted the very first "International Light Car Series" events
that led up to the famous Vanderbilt cup race in 1911."

Savannah was one of the pioneer sites for road racing. The Savannah
Automobile Club was founded in 1904 by Frank Battey. When the club
heard that the Vanderbilt cup race had been cancelled for 1907, they
decided to organize an International event as a
replacement. W.K. Vanderbilt had organized the famous Vanderbilt cup
Races on Long Island from 1904 until 1906. In 1907, the Governor of
New York State denied use of troops for spectator control, so no race
was held. Therefore, as a trial event, Savannah hosted a series of
stock car races on Mar. 18-19th, 1908 drawing 30,000 spectators. The
track was a 9.8-mile rectangular course, and had a grandstand for
16,000. The event was a success. Then, the Savannah Automobile Club,
with the assistance of the Automobile Club of America, decided to
sponsor an "International Light Car Road Race" on Thanksgiving Day
weekend, Nov. 25-26th, 1908.

The first race, a light car event, drew 17 entries: 2 Italian, 2
French, 13 American. One of the Italian entries was a new-model
Lancia. The race was 20 laps over the 9.8-mile course. The second race
was the American Grand Prize Race ($5000 cup), a 16-lap race run over
a 25.13-mile road course with 23 curves, on an oiled, hard,
coarse-sand road surface, covering 402 miles. There were 20 entries
for that race.

Savannah provided separate accommodations for each team; some at
established locations; others built specifically for personnel, along
with additional areas for storing and working on the cars. Roads were
closed each day for practice from 11 AM until 4 PM. One driver,
Hemery, in a Benz, drove the 25-mile course 50 times in practice; over
3 tines the distance of the race. (Practice for the Long Island
Vanderbilt Cup Race was held early morning, and the race itself began
at 6:30 AM because of public opposition to the race) Further
preparations for the 1908 race weekend included providing 1600 troops
for crowd control, 30 doctors stationed along the course, and 160
flagmen connected by telephone communication. (At that time the RED
flag indicated a clear course). Other than driving to Savannah, some
spectators came by train or boat and stayed aboard using them as a
"hotel". One group of 100 arrived by special train, the "Wall Street
Special", comprised of six compartment cars, a baggage car, buffet
car, a dynamo and a barber shop car, and all had access to telegraph
and telephone.

Race cars in 1908 were 2-seaters, and a mechanic rode along as
"passenger". Drivers drew for starting position and ran against the
clock. Starter, Fred Wagner, sent the cars off at 30-second
intervals. First car off was an S.P.O. which had been wrecked in
practice when the driver tried to avoid a dog in the middle of the
road. Unfortunately, the mechanic was fatally injured when thrown from
the vehicle. However, the car was repaired in time for the race with
owner Conners replacing the injured driver Jahasz. Entrants are listed
below in finishing order:

Pos.	Driver	Make
1	Hilliard	Lancia
2	Burman	Buick
3	Lorimer	Chalmers-Detroit
4	Hearne	Buick
5	Poole	Isotta
6	See	Maxwell
7	Kelsey	Maxwell
8	Costello	Maxwell
9	Munweiler	Maxwell
10	Connors	S.P.O.
11 NR	Easter	Buick
12 NR	Bergdoll	Chalmers
13 NR	Cameron	Cameron
14 NR	Jeffers	Buick
15 NR	Burns	Chalmers
DNS American Aristocrat & Gregoire

The winning car averaged 52.59 m.p.h.. It was admitted that the Buick
driven by Burman put up the fastest laps but lost time in the
pits. Ten cars were running at the finish: 7 had completed the full 20
laps. One accident occurred near the end of the race; both driver and
mechanic recovered from injuries.

It is interesting to note the similarities between the early races at
Savannah and at Watkins Glen. Open practice; holding up trains while
the race was in progress; providing facilities for competitors and
spectators, but mostly, the competent organization by the Committee
and cooperation of the townspeople.

(Photos reproduced from "The Great Savannah Races of 1908, 1910, 1911"
by Julian Quattlebaum, M.D.)