It came to be known as the Lemon Capital of the World, but before citrus was a major industry in Corona, California, it had already become a landmark in the early days of motor racing. That happened because the civil engineer Hiram Clay Kellogg gave the city in western Riverside County its signature geographic feature, a circular main street called Grand Boulevard, three miles around and an even mile in diameter.
This Saturday marks 100 years since the first of three international auto races were contested on oiled-dirt Grand Boulevard, the first held to mark the 53rd anniversary of California’s admission to the Union. The first event boasted a purse of $10,000, then a record. Earl Cooper went on to claim the $5,000 winner’s share over a field that also included Teddy Tetzlaff, Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker and Bob Burman.
A larger field came for the next Corona race, on Thanksgiving Day in 1914, which saw Eddie Pullen take the win with a Mercer after battling Oldfield and Eddie O’Donnell over 109 laps. The final Corona race was held after a year’s hiatus on a sizzling day in April 1916, and ended in disaster. Bob Burman, a pioneering dirt track star, was killed in a crash, along with his riding mechanic and a security guard who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. O’Donnell won the race aboard a Duesenberg, one of only five finishers. The deaths – Oldfield’s riding mechanic had also been killed when he crashed in the 1913 race – and poor finances doomed the races.
Saturday’s celebration in Corona City Park will mark 100 years since that first event with vintage and modern race cars, beginning at 9 a.m. at the official 1913 starting line on Grand Boulevard at Washburn Street. Cable network channel MAVTV will cover the event. For more information, visit DiscoverCorona.com.
