Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific, ' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987, 176 pp., 1915
Chapter 2; Chapter 3: Growth through the Teens (1913-1919)
"Venice 's fascination with new forms of transportation extended to the automobile as well. Road racing, the most exciting spectator sport of the era, captured the public's fancy and also that of the Board of Trustees, who authorized the 1915 Venice Grand Prix on the streets of Venice. It was roughly a triangle course down Electric Avenue, Rose Avenue, and Compton Road (Lincoln Boulevard). The curves were banked for high speed turns. Eight thousand dollars in prize money was offered.
"A Saturday afternoon St. Patrick's Day crowd of 75,000 watched the 300 mile road race from the bleachers and anywhere they could find a view. Seventeen drivers entered some of the fastest racing machines of their day; Bugatti, Simplex, Stutz, Mercer, Peugeot, Maxwell, Napier, Chevrolet, DeLage and Hercules. Mechanical problems plagued most of the drivers as one after another dropped out of the grueling race. Dave Lewis was in the lead on the 80th lap with just 17 laps to go when engine trouble forced out of the race. Barney Oldfield's Maxwell went on to an easy victory. Billy Carlson, also driving a Maxwell, finished second just 41 seconds behind Oldfield. Only eight of the seventeen entries finished the race. Average speed of the winner in the four and one-half hour race was 68.5 mph.
"The race was considered a success despite injuries to bystanders when a scoreboard toppled, and the death of an elderly spectator who wandered on to the course and was struck by a car. However, the city lost $10,000 due to gate crashing and the sale of 1000 counterfeit tickets by con men. Despite 40,000 paid admissions, thousands rushed the gates and sneaked in when ticket takers were unable to handle the large crowd." p. 60