Charlotte Speedway, a high-banked 1.25-mile wooden board track located in Pineville, North Carolina, held a 250-mile event on May 10, 1926. The race was sanctioned by the AAA as part of its National Championship Trail, the leading open-wheel racing series of the era. Harry Hartz secured pole position, but Earl DeVore emerged victorious in the No. 17 Nickel Plate Miller Special, a front-wheel-drive Miller-powered car, completing the distance in 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 54.6 seconds for an average speed of 120.086 mph. Hartz finished second in his Miller, followed by Fred Comer in third, with Norman Batten and Frank Elliott rounding out the top five. There were only six cars that completed the full distance out of the sixteen that started. DeVore’s win marked his sole AAA victory in a career that included strong showings at the Indianapolis 500, while Harry Hartz went on to claim the 1926 AAA national championship title.
The race highlighted the extreme speeds possible on board tracks—with steep banking up to 40 degrees—bringing national big-time auto racing to the South and far surpassing typical dirt-track performances of the time. This was one of three AAA Championship events held at the track in 1926 (with others in August and November), though the venue operated only from 1924 to 1927 before deteriorating and being closed. DeVore’s win marked his sole AAA victory in a career that included strong showings at the Indianapolis 500, while Harry Hartz went on to claim the 1926 AAA national championship title.
May 8, 1926
May 8, 1926
May 9, 1926
May 9, 1926
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May 10, 1926
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May 11, 1926