The June 14, 1924, race at Altoona Speedway was the third round of the AAA National Championship. Held on the 1.25-mile high-banked board oval in Tyrone, Pennsylvania (near Altoona), this full 250-mile (200-lap) event featured intense competition on one of the era’s premier wooden speedways. Ira Vail would start on the pole in the 16-car field.
Jimmy Murphy dominated in his #2 Miller Special, leading 109 laps and winning with a time of 2:10:57 at an average speed of 114.55 mph. Fred Comer finished second in his #14 Miller (200 laps), followed by Antoine Mourre in third in his #32 Miller (200 laps)—giving Millers a clean sweep of the podium. Some lapped cars were flagged early due to rain, but the leaders completed the full distance. High attrition marked the race, including Jerry Wunderlich’s wreck around lap 160 when he was initially thought to be dead as reported by several newspapers. Wunderlich would recover from his injures and continue to compete and work as a race driver in several movies that included auto racing.
Attendance exceeded 60,000 spectators, according to reports in the Pittsburgh newspaper from June 15, 1924. This victory was Murphy’s first of three that season (including another at Altoona in September), strengthening his march toward the posthumous 1924 national championship. The event showcased the thrilling speeds and inherent dangers of 1920s board-track racing.
