I keep my 32 Roadster in a small garage in Sheepshead Bay. It’s a great Brooklyn neighborhood with a strong Italian community. It’s also a little cheaper to rent garages than other parts of NYC. Little did I know that Sheepshead Bay had a rich racing history and there was a race called the Astor Cup (sponsored by my great great uncle).

In fact, at the beginning of the 20th Century, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation built what would become the largest public arena for outdoor sports in the world. It was a two mile wood board oval and would have the capacity to hold 175,000 people which even by today’s standards is huge.

The first Astor Cup Race was held on October 9th, 1915 over a distance of 350 miles and was won by Gil Anderson.