1936 Vanderbilt Cup

The 1936 Vanderbilt Cup was a Championship Car race that was held on October 12, 1936 at Roosevelt Raceway near Westbury, New York. It was the fourth and final race of the 1936 AAA Championship Car season, not counting the non-championship events. The race, contested over 75 laps of 6.39 km, was won by Tazio Nuvolari driving an Alfa Romeo 12C-36 from eighth starting position.

Background

For the history of the Vanderbilt Cup: see Vanderbilt Cup
This was the first time that the Vanderbilt Cup was held since 1916. George Washington Vanderbilt III, the nephew of the founder of the Vanderbilt Cup, William Kissam Vanderbilt II, sponsored a 300-mile race in 1936 at Roosevelt Raceway. Just as in the original races, European drivers were enticed by the substantial prize money - Scuderia Ferrari entered three Alfa Romeo racers. However, because of little American competition and an unexciting course layout, the race was organized for only two years. Both races were won by Europeans. After 1937, the Vanderbilt Cup would not be raced until 1960, and in a far less prestigious form.

Entries

DNA = Did not arrive
DNS = Did not start
DNQ = Did not qualify

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Grid positions

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Race results

Twelve of the forty-five drivers that started the race were Europeans driving an English ERA, a French Bugatti or an Italian Alfa Romeo or Maserati. The rest of the field was made up of Americans in dirt track cars with two-speed gearboxes. Although the course contained only one long straight, and the European drivers had to get used to the loose dirt track surface, the Americans were no contest for the Grand Prix cars. For example, even with Nuvolari's V12 Alfa Romeo running on eleven cylinders, he won by eight minutes on Wimille. The best American driver was Cummings finishing seventh almost twenty-five minutes behind the winner.

Pos.	Driver	Car Constructor	Time
1	Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	4:32:44.0
2	Wimille	Bugatti	4:40:55.9
3	Brivio	Alfa Romeo	4:45:44.4
4	Sommer	Alfa Romeo	4:46:59.51
5	Fairfield	ERA	4:56:48.5
6	McEvoy	Maserati	4:57:24.8
7	Cummings	Miller	4:57:43.11
8	Rose	Miller	4:57:47.2
9	Étancelin	Maserati	4:59:43.11
10	Litz	Miller	5:01:05.82
11	Tabor	Duesenberg	5:04:06.6
12	Andres	Stevens	5:05:54.9
13	Howe	ERA	5:06:11.75
14	Evans	Bugatti	5:07:42.5
15	Lewis	ERA	5:08:17.27
16	Decker	Duesenburg	5:08:18.63
17	Putnam	Studebaker	+1 lap
18	Rayson	Maserati	+1 lap
19	Lake	Ambler	+2 laps
20	Banks	Miller	+3 laps
21	Gardner	Miller	+3 laps
22	Zarka	Ambler	+4 laps
23	Swanson	Miller	+4 laps
24	Gulotta	Stevens	+6 laps
25	Shafer	Miller	+6 laps
26	Miller	Rigling	+10 laps
27	Brisko	Miller	+10 laps
28	Balus	Duesenberg	+10 laps
29	Chamberlain	Duesenberg	+10 laps
30	Tomei		+10 laps
31	Connor	Weil	+3 laps
32	Winn	Miller	+11 laps
33	Snowberger		+14 laps
34	Thorne		+26 laps
35	Stapp	Shaw	+27 laps
36	Horn	Wetteroth	+30 laps
37	Snyder	Stevens	+35 laps
38	Cantlon	Miller	+40 laps
39	Davis		+45 laps
40	Willman	Stevens	+54 laps
41	Farina	Alfa Romeo	+58 laps
42	"Raph"	Maserati	+66 laps
43	Phillips	Bugatti	+67 laps
44	Marion		+72 laps
45	Shaw	Shaw	+73 laps

DNF = Did Not Finish
DSQ = Disqualified

''Sources: see Entries''