Savannah

Having already held a stock car race in March, the Savannah Automobile Club was asked to organise the inaugural American Grand Prize in November 1908. A 25-mile circuit was prepared using convicts to lay the gravel and oil the surface. The circuit featured the 4-mile straight on Ferguson Avenue and 32 corners. While races on Long Island had been marred by poor crowd control, Savannah’s organisation was impeccable. The Grand Prize was not held in 1909 but it returned on the original 17-mile stock car course in 1910 and 1911. David Bruce-Brown emerged as an early star of the sport in America by winning on both occasions, albeit driving European machinery. However, the popular circuit was abandoned after that 1911 race due to objections from local residents.