Video: Ford V8 Dominates The 1933 Elgin National Stock Car Road Race

Here’s rare footage from one of the great spectacles in American racing history: Fred Frame winning the 1933 National Stock Car Road Race on the grueling road course in Elgin, Illinois.

 

 

Thanks to the Ford Motor Company collections of the National Archives, we can share this rare movie short featuring the 1933 Elgin National Road Race. Originally held from 1910 through 1920, the motor racing spectacular was brought back for 1933 as part of the festivities surrounding the Chicago World’s Fair. The ’33 revival included two feature races on the 8.47-mile Elgin road course just west of Chicago: one for open class cars (won by AAA star Phil “Red” Shafer) and a stock car race for production vehicles of less than 231 cubic inches.

Since Ford utterly dominated the stock car portion of the event, it’s the focus of this Ford newsreel, naturally. Ford V8s swept the top seven places, with 1932 Indy 500 winner Fred Frame leading the pack. His average speed over the 24-lap, 203-mile grind was an impressive 80.22 mph—all the more impressive when we recall that in those days, it was said that a good Ford V8 was capable of touching 85 mph on a level road. Reportedly, Frame and another Ford V8 driven by Lou Moore were clocked at just over 100 mph on the straights, demonstrating that the top Fords were in a sharp state of tune. Some say the Ford performance at Elgin was a motivation for the company’s 1935 Indy 500 campaign, but that’s another story. Without further ado, here’s the race.

 

5 thoughts on “Video: Ford V8 Dominates The 1933 Elgin National Stock Car Road Race

  1. This has to rank as one of the very best posts you have made. So historic! Thank you.

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