The Twin Cities Motor Speedway

By Sigur Whitaker
 
The success of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had many other groups wanting to build a speedway. Carl Fisher headed a group to convert the old Sheepshead Bay horse racing facility in Brooklyn, New York. Others were building speedways in Chicago, Detroit and Cincinnati.
 
Two groups wanted to build a racetrack in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The probability of both groups being successful with competing speedways in the same market was slim. Both groups initially set out to acquire options on various parcels of land near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. 
 
Frank Wheeler, one of the founders of IMS, joined with John D. Hogan, W. D. Hogan, C. E. Dutton and others in forming the Twin City Motor Speedway Association which filed articles of incorporation in November 1914. They planned to build a track paved with concrete at an estimated cost of $900,000. Financing would be underwritten primarily by a bonding company. They assembled approximately 400 acres of land for the project.
 
The Twin Cities Motor Speedway group was already promoting their speedway and securing deeds or options for approximately 400 acres of land when the Minnesota Motor Speedway Association, led by H. C. Moore of Chicago, was formed. Its model was to sell memberships and stock in the association to businessmen. The founders envisioned a track made of vitrified brick with seating capacity of 100,000. There would be a modern clubhouse for the exclusive use of the members and their friends. The infield would be used for aviation, a golf course, polo, tennis, and other sporting events. Estimated cost of this track was $1 million.
 
Wheeler’s group had most of the land assembled for the speedway except for one parcel under option by the Minnesota Motor Speedway Association. In November 1914, the Minnesota Motor Speedway group’s option expired, enabling the Twin Cities group to begin construction of the speedway.  The two factions agreed to join together to build a speedway.
 
A final site was selected near Snelling, Minnesota and construction was completed in time for the group to hold its first race over Labor Day weekend in 1915. In practice, Dario Resta in a Peugeot set the standard at 101.12 mph. During qualifications, eight cars took to the field and six qualified. Five thousand patrons attended the time trials. The drivers complained that the track was rough.
 
The 500-mile race itself was very close. Earl Cooper in a Stutz beat his teammate Gil Anderson by a fifth of a second. Cooper’s winning speed was 86.34 mph and he earned $20,000 in gold. For his second-place finish, Anderson was awarded $10,000 in gold. Third place was taken by O’Donnell in a Duesenberg for $4,500. 
 
Despite the close finish, the race was a disappointment to the organizers, the spectators, and the teams. The roughness of the track resulted in some serious accidents. Popular drivers Bob Burman, Dario Resta, Ralph DePalma, and Ralph Mulford were sidelined before the race was half over. And the race was much slower than had been expected.
 
While the promoters had expected a crowd of 100,000, there were only 28,000 paying customers. This was attributed to the $2 general admission ticket that permitted only seating on the surrounding hilltops or in the infield. If you wanted a reserved seat, the cost was $2.50 for the cheapest seat in addition to the general admission ticket. Boxes in the grandstand were described as “nearly priceless.” Parking was at least $5 for the least desirable location. Total gate receipts were $115,000 and the cost to run the race including the prizes was $71,000.
 
The Twin Cities Speedway owners had another problem. The people who had constructed the track hadn’t been paid. The Star Tribune newspaper reported that there was a near riot by laborers demanding their wages. A large quantity of paper and oil was discovered under one of the grandstands. It was believed that whoever placed it there wanted to start a fire.
 
Frank Wheeler promised to secure a $350,000 bond to pay the contractors and the five hundred laborers. The three primary investors in the bonds were Wheeler, Guy Thomas, and B. A. Paust with the remainder being assumed by the contractors to whom the Speedway owed monies. The bonds were issued with a six percent interest rate.
 
Plans were made for a race on July 4, 1916. Realtor J. A. Sperry provided management of the Speedway on a day-to-day basis. Several months before the July 4 race, Wheeler demanded that Sperry resign. When he did not, Wheeler, the largest investor, pulled out of the group.
 
The race, held on July 4, 1916, was delayed by about an hour because W. C. Barnes, AAA representative, refused to start the race until the promoters gave him the prize money.  After an hour of negotiation, the drivers agreed to run the race when there was $8,500 cash in hand with a promise for the remainder in the future. To come up with the cash, some of the promoters had to dig into their personal bank accounts.  Ralph De Palma, driving a Mercedes, won the 150-mile race on July 4th weekend. He led 50 of the 75 laps at an average speed of 91.074 mph. Management cut the price of general admission to $1, and the cost of a grandstand seat began at $2. This race brought in only $6,886 which were distributed proportionately to the drivers.
 
After the race, Barnes recommended to the AAA that no more races be held at the Speedway until there was a change in management. The drivers, who were owed $8,114, put the Speedway into bankruptcy. There was no more racing at the Speedway.
 
The Twin City Aero Club used the infield as a landing area and in 1921, it was renamed the Wold-Chamberlain field after two local World War I pilots. The hope was that it would attract more airmail deliveries. A wooden hangar was erected in 1920. The remains of the old racetrack were easily identifiable from the air. The concrete track was removed between 1927 and 1932 for airport expansion. The Wold-Chamberlain field is now the Minneapolis and St. Paul International Airport.
 
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