Astor Cup (auto race)

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 was donated by Vincent Astor, whose name and connections ensured the attendance of members of New York City's fashionable and wealthy elite.

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 350-mile (560 km) 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. The winner if the first Astor Cup car race in 1915 was Gil Andersen.