The 1925 Opening Classic at Culver City Speedway, held on March 1, 1925, served as the season-opening event for the AAA National Championship on the high-banked 1.25-mile wooden board track in Culver City, California. This 250-mile championship race (also known as Culver City Race 1) featured elite drivers of the era pushing the limits on one of the fastest and most daring board ovals in America. Originally scheduled for February 22nd, track conditions forced a postponement after 14 laps with the remainder of the race running on March 1.
Tommy Milton, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner (1921 and 1923), claimed victory in a Miller Special, averaging around 126.89 mph over the grueling distance. He outpaced Peter DePaolo (Duesenberg) in second and Harry Hartz (Miller) in third. The event highlighted the intense, high-risk nature of board track racing, with powerful supercharged engines enabling blistering speeds and dramatic overtakes on the steeply inclined turns.
Culver City Speedway, a 1.25-mile board oval that replaced the Beverly Hills track on the AAA calendar, was renowned for its extreme design: the four turns were banked at 45 degrees (with some historical accounts noting even steeper sections up to 50 degrees in places), allowing cars to maintain momentum at extraordinary velocities while demanding precision to avoid catastrophic slides or structural failures. This steep banking made it one of the quickest tracks of its time but also contributed to the era’s high danger level. The race drew huge crowds thrilled by the spectacle, setting the stage for Tommy Milton’s solid season (second in national points) and Peter DePaolo’s eventual championship dominance, while underscoring the thrills and perils of 1920s American motorsport’s Golden Age.
February 21, 1925
February 22, 1925
February 22, 1925
February 21, 1925
March 2, 1925