RaceNewYork
RaceNewYork Discussion => Racing Discussion => Topic started by: Half Fast Bob on February 09, 2012, 01:51:26 AM
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This took a bunch of research, but I'm pretty sure I've nailed it. The speedway was called Devils Bowl Speedway and ran in the late '30s under the promotion of the Aurora Auto Club. Races were held on Sunday afternoons with 3 alternating classes... jalopies, midgets and motorcycles. Midgets were the headliner. The track definitely ran in 1939, and at some point during that year, the track was reconfigured into a 4/10. An article I found while researching referenced the track being an amphitheater and call it the "all new" speedway. I took this to mean it was built at the bottom of a small steep hill.
If anyone is interested in researching this track, it was located on what is now known as Jewitt Holmwood Road (CR 368). To get there, start at the corner of Route 20A and Jewitt Holmwood. Head south on Jewitt Holmwood until you cross the creek. The 2nd house on the left is the property where the track sat, but you need to go past the house to get where the track was. Across the street is another house with a 20 x 20 barn. Stop at the end of that driveway. Directly across the road about 40 yards in is where the track was.
This 1951 aerial map shows the outline of the track, and believe me... finding this one was a bear.
http://www.erie.gov/aerials/1951/photos/51_4H8.jpg (http://www.erie.gov/aerials/1951/photos/51_4H8.jpg)
It appears as though the track repoened after WWII because it is in raceable condition in this photo. It also looks as if there was current use of the track based on the grass being worn leading to the track. I wish we could pull in closer on this track without distortion because it looks like a car is on the track taking practice laps... that would be a first in these aerial maps.
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That's all very cool information! I'm glad that you cracked the case. :-)
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Here is a better view -
(https://www.raceny.com/smf2/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi108.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn13%2FHalffastvideo%2FVintage%2520-%2520new%2FEastAuroraDevilsBowl1951.jpg&hash=ea1b39a8aba3484b0b3ed03087f394bcca57e190)
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That is super cool. Believe it or not the "Superfreak" Rick James home was on the same road, maybe 1/4 mile away
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I'd like to see pictures of the track when it ran. If anyone stumbles across them, please share the wealth.
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isn't that the Erie county fairground's racetrack at the top-right of the picture ? that's a 1 mile track. it puts the track you're locating here at less than 1/10th of that size.
While I certainly wish you were right about that speedway, I don't see how this can possibly be it given the scale.
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Actually, the Erie County Fairgrounds are in Hamburg, NY - about 13 1/2 miles to the southwest of this photo. This picture was shot in 1951 over East Aurora, NY.
Using the ruler tool in Google Maps, the track at Hamburg measures .57 miles along the very outside edge. The bigger track to the north in the 1951 aerial photo measures .53 miles using the same utility.
The larger track in East Aurora has been there since at least 1920 according to the US Geological Survey. There was also a 1 mile track on the south side of Route 20A, Just west of the Jewitt Holmwood Road intersection that appears in the 1920 aerial photo. Not even a trace of it can be seen in the 1951 photo.
I won't argue the fact that the track I found measures less than 4/10. The very best I could get using the same measuring tool in Google Maps is 2/10. But this photo was taken 12 years after advertised midget races were held in East Aurora. Anything could have happened to the track in that time frame - including being built by a dad for his son to race his go kart for all we know. It could also be a typographical error in the column that mentions racing there.
I am not proclaiming to be the foremost authority on chasing these old tracks, but I WILL lay claim to being the most active not only in NY, but the entire northeast. I find this stuff from reading almost anything racing related that I can get my hands on. In many cases, my only clue is a casual mention that a guy raced in a certain town in an interview. I've found no ads on Devils Bowl Speedway in East Aurora, NY but I do know the track existed and that they raced there.
http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale%20-%200651.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=1328bb1b&DocId=17947862&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=35&hits=23b+371+372+373+3c2+45f+48c+723+766+778+780+781+7ac+7ad+7cc+7d1+7d2+7d3+81c+81d+845+846+87c+897+898+89b+89c+8a1+8a6+8a7+c60+c8e+cb9+f67+fa2+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf (http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale%20-%200651.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=1328bb1b&DocId=17947862&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=35&hits=23b+371+372+373+3c2+45f+48c+723+766+778+780+781+7ac+7ad+7cc+7d1+7d2+7d3+81c+81d+845+846+87c+897+898+89b+89c+8a1+8a6+8a7+c60+c8e+cb9+f67+fa2+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf)
http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale%20-%200640.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=44d74840&DocId=17947851&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=12&hits=f1+22b+22c+22e+234+2a2+32b+387+406+83d+14b9+14ba+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf (http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale/Hamburg%20NY%20Erie%20County%20Independent%201938-1940%20Grayscale%20-%200640.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=44d74840&DocId=17947851&Index=Z%3a%2fFulton%20Historical&HitCount=12&hits=f1+22b+22c+22e+234+2a2+32b+387+406+83d+14b9+14ba+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf)