Left: The Locomobile Type 1906, "Old 16", driven by George Robertson on its way to
winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island.
Center: Action during the 1916 Vanderbilt Cup event at Santa Monica with William
Bolden (#12) leading Omar Toft.
Vanderbilt Cup Winners
The Willie K. Vanderbilt Years
Year
Driver
Car
MPH
Location
1904
George Heath
Panhard
52.2
Long Island
1905
Victor Hemery
Darracq
61.5
Long Island
1906
Louis Wagner
Darracq
61.43
Long Island
1908
George Robertson
Locomobile
64.39
Long Island
1909
Harry Grant
ALCO
62.77
Long Island
1910
Harry Grant
ALCO
65.183
Long Island
1911
Ralph Mulford
Lozier
73.390
Savannah
1912
Ralph DePalma
Mercedes
68.962
Milwaukee
1914
Ralph DePalma
Schroeder-Merc.
75.49
Santa Monica
1915
Dario Resta
Peugeot
66.443
San Francisco
1916
Dario Resta
Peugeot
86.990
Santa Monica
The George Vanderbilt Years
Year
Driver
Car
MPH
Location
1936
Tazio Nuvolari
V-12 Alfa Romeo
65.998
Roosevelt R'way
1937
Bernd Rosemeyer
Auto Union
82.564
Roosevelt R'way
The Cornelius Vanderbilt Years
Year
Driver
Car
MPH
Location
1960
Harry Carter
Stanguellini
74.95
Roosevelt R'way
The US 500 Years
Year
Driver
Car
MPH
Location
1996
Jimmy Vasser
Reynard-Honda
156.403
Michigan
1997
Alex Zanardi
Reynard-Honda
167.044
Michigan
1998
Greg Moore
Reynard-Mercedes
165.913
Michigan
1999
Tony Kanaan
Reynard-Honda
186.097
Michigan
The CART/Champ Car Champion Years
Year
Driver
Car
Wins
Team
2000
Gil de Ferran
Reynard-Honda
2
Penske Racing
2001
Gil de Ferran
Reynard-Honda
2
Penske Racing
2002
Cristiano da Matta
Lola-Toyota
7
Newman-Haas
2003
Paul Tracy
Lola-Ford
7
Players-Forsythe
2004
Sebastien Bourdais
Lola-Ford
7
Newman/Haas
2005
Sebastien Bourdais
Lola-Ford
6
Newman/Haas
2006
Sebastien Bourdais
Lola-Ford
7
Newman/Haas
2007
Sebastien Bourdais
Panoz-Cosworth
8
Newman/Haas
Vanderbilt Cup Race: 1936 & 1937 Photo Archive (Photo Archive Series) by Brock Yates
Order this book today
Vanderbilt Tidbits
1904: Willie K. Vanderbilt creates a major international auto race in the US to inspire the American
manufacturers to compete against the Europeans. Vanderbilt donates the cup for the winner. Though George Heath
is an American, the winning car is French, and thus the victory is considered a foreign win. Riding mechanic
Carl Mensel is killed.
1906: Spectator Curt L. Grueber killed.
1907: Due to previous crowd control problems, the race is canceled while the Long Island Motor Parkway, the
first limited access highway in the world, is built for future races.
1908: The Locomobile Type 1906, later nicknamed "Old 16," becomes the first American car to win a major
international auto race.
1910: Riding mechanics Charles Miller and Mathew Bacon killed in separate crashes.
1911: Jay McNay killed during practice.
1912: David Bruce-Brown killed during practice.
1914: Race postponed five days due to rain.
1936: The Vanderbilt Cup is revived thanks to the efforts of George Robertson. George Vanderbilt, nephew
of Willie K., donates a new Cup for the winner. Track turns out to be a "Mickey Mouse" farce with numerous turns
and short straights.
1937: Race postponed two days due to rain.
1960: The race is once again revived in the parking lots of Roosevelt Field with a Formula Junior race with
such drivers as Jim Rathmann, Rodger Ward, Jim Hall, Roger Penske, Carroll Shelby, Walt Hansgen, and the Rodriguez
brothers. Cornelius Vanderbilt, another nephew of Willie K., donates a new Cup for the winner.
1996: CART gains the rights to the Vanderbilt Cup, commissions a new one similar to the original, and awards
it to the winner of the US 500. The first year sees a 12 car pileup before the start. The race is red flagged, and
restarted with many drivers using their backup cars.
1999: Tony Kanaan beats Juan Montoya by 0.032 seconds after leader Max Papis runs out of fuel on last corner.
2000: Vanderbilt Cup is now awarded to the CART/Champ Car season champion, replacing the PPG Cup.
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1906: Spectator Curt L. Grueber killed.