In 1900, The Industrial Exhibition in Toronto (as it was called at the time) was home to a 1/2 mile dirt oval.
Many events were held there, such as the main event on September 5th 1900. Three cars would race for 6 miles around the 1/2 mile oval. The average speed was 17.85 miles per hour. The winning driver wwas J. Short in a CCM (Canadian Cycle & Motor Company Limited). Yes, in the early 1900’s, CCM built cars too!
Barney Oldfield rose to the challenge in 1904 and set a new world record. Barney did 6 laps (3 miles) in 3 minutes and 57 seconds in his Peerless reaching speeds of an incredible 50.4 miles per hour at the time. There were 5,000 spectators at the CNE Grandstand on this day that witnessed this historic event.
Also in the year 1900, F.S. Evans raced against the clock, setting a new record of 3 hours and 20 minutes, racing his automobile 60 kilometres between Toronto and Hamilton.
Barney Oldfield in front of the CNE Grandstand back in 1903. The Car is a Peerless.
Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library.
