The 1912 American Grand Prize was the seventh and final race of the 1912 Grand Prix season. It was held at the Wauwatosa Road Race Course in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America.[1] Caleb Bragg won by over 15 minutes over Erwin Bergdoll. Bragg's average speed was 68.397 mph (110.074 km/h).[2]
| 1912 American Grand Prize | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race details | |||
| Date | October 5, 1912 | ||
| Official name | IV American Grand Prize | ||
| Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | ||
| Course | Public roads | ||
| Course length | 12.68 km (7.88 miles) | ||
| Distance | 52 laps, 659.36 km (409.76 miles) | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Fiat | ||
| Second | Benz | ||
| Third | Stutz | ||
The event was marred by the deaths of two-time and defending winner David Bruce-Brown and his mechanician Tony Scudellari in a practice accident.[3][4] Bruce-Brown's car was repaired by Barney Oldfield and driven to a fourth-place finish.[1] Ralph DePalma and his mechanician Tom Alley were injured when DePalma's Mercedes touched the rear of Bragg's Fiat and overturned, ejecting its occupants.[5]
Classification edit
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 |  Caleb Bragg
|
Fiat | 52 | 5:59:27.44 |
| 2 | 40 | Erwin Bergdoll
|
Benz | 52 | 6:14:58.38 |
| 3 | 43 | Gil Andersen
|
Stutz-Wisconsin | 52 | 6:15:22.47 |
| 4 | 44 | Barney Oldfield
|
Fiat | 52 | 6:19:54.69 |
| 5 | 39 | George Clark
|
Mercedes | 50 | +2 Laps |
| 6 | 42 | Joe Horan
|
Benz | 47 | +5 Laps |
| 7 | 35 | Ralph DePalma
|
Mercedes | 51 | Crashed |
| 8 | 33 | Teddy Tetzlaff
|
Fiat | 30 | Broken Radius Rod |
| 9 | 32 | Louis Fountaine
|
Lozier | 21 | Steering knuckle |
| 10 | 34 |  Hughie Hughes
|
Mercer | 16 | Broken fuel line |
| 11 | 36 | Spencer Wishart
|
Mercedes | 3 | Drive shaft |
| 12 | 31 | Bob Burman
|
Benz | 2 | Broken piston |
| DNS | 47 | Ralph Mulford
|
Knox | 0 | Ignition |
References edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1912 American Grand Prize.
- ^ a b Ward, Harry (October 6, 1912). "Young millionaire racing driver is winner of classic". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018.
- ^ "American Grand Prize". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ^ "Auto racer is killed during speed trial". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. October 2, 1912.
- ^ "Tony Scudellari yields to death". The Chicago Daily Tribune. October 9, 1912.
- ^ "Caleb Bragg wins Grand Prize race" (PDF). The New York Times. October 6, 1912. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.