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PRINTER'S NO. 4056
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1088
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY MALONEY, NEILSON, SCHLEGEL CULVER, GREINER,
READSHAW, BIZZARRO, BOBACK, PASHINSKI, DUSH, SONNEY, BURNS,
KINSEY, HAHN, CUTLER, MILLARD, RYAN, KAVULICH, DAVIS,
R. BROWN, HILL-EVANS, ZIMMERMAN, MACKENZIE, MARSICO,
DRISCOLL, HICKERNELL, CALTAGIRONE AND B. O'NEILL,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2018
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Designating September 25, 2018, as "Motorsports Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, At the turn of the 19th century, motorized vehicles
began to displace horses as the primary means of transportation
in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation; and
WHEREAS, As the automobile became more popular in the United
States in the early 20th century, it is not surprising that some
form of racing competition would emerge; and
WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, Uniontown hotelier George Flavius
Titlow, one of the first to own an automobile, recognized the
tourism potential of motorsports competition and launched the
Automobile Club of Fayette County; and
WHEREAS, The Automobile Club of Fayette County promoted the
first competitive automotive event in Pennsylvania, which
consisted of a hill climb up a winding dirt road on Summit
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Mountain; and
WHEREAS, This race and other early races involved cars
straight from the showroom, with few modifications; and
WHEREAS, The first race was won by a Kline Kar, which was
built in York County from 1910 to 1912; and
WHEREAS, While subsequent hill climbs attracted many
competitors and thousands of spectators who lined the road to
the summit, the tragic death of a driver lead to the exploration
of potentially safer alternatives to these dangerous hill
climbs; and
WHEREAS, Following the introduction of wooden board
racetracks in Europe, George Titlow built one of the first board
tracks in the United States in Uniontown, which opened in 1916;
and
WHEREAS, The track became a destination for wealthy
individuals and movie stars and its races were filmed by
Universal Pictures and shown in theaters throughout the nation;
and
WHEREAS, Safety concerns regarding board tracks and the death
of drivers and spectators led to the demise of board tracks and
the rise of dirt tracks as the most viable alternative in the
1920s; and
WHEREAS, Dirt tracks were in existence prior to the 1920s,
including those at Point Breeze Park in Philadelphia and the
York Fairgrounds; and
WHEREAS, Numerous dirt tracks sprung up in Pennsylvania,
often in farmers' fields and at local fairgrounds, as venues for
both auto and motorcycle racing; and
WHEREAS, This legacy lives on today in the 33 dirt tracks
that are still active across this Commonwealth and host a wide
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variety of auto racing events, including midgets, karts,
slingshots, late models, modifieds, sprint cars, stocks,
wingless, Roadrunners and more; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania hosts various motocross, road and track
motorcycle racing events, including the Rattlesnake National
Enduro race in Cross Fork, Potter County, the AMA Pro Hillclimb
events in Jefferson, York County, and Freemansburg, Northampton
County, and the Grand National Cross Country off-road race in
Mount Morris, Greene County; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is home to other types of race
facilities, including dragstrips, like Maple Grove Raceway,
located near Mohnton, Berks County, and superspeedways, like
Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, Monroe County; and
WHEREAS, Maple Grove Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip that
began its life as an amusement park in 1923; and
WHEREAS, In the 1930s, the owners added a half-mile stock car
track which was called the Brecknock Speedway, and the first
race was held in 1937; and
WHEREAS, While World War II brought an end to stock car
racing at this location, in 1957, the local motorcycle club
sought permission to run drag races on the straightaway of the
old stock car track; and
WHEREAS, The original one-eighth mile strip was lengthened to
the standard one-fifth mile length in 1962; and
WHEREAS, The owners of what is now Maple Grove Raceway
entered into a sanctioning agreement with the National Hot Rod
Association, which held its first national event, the Keystone
NHRA Nationals, in 1985 and attracted some of the top
competitors from around the country; and
WHEREAS, The Keystone NHRA Nationals bring tens of thousands
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of spectators annually to the region and are watched by a
national television audience that reaches millions of viewers;
and
WHEREAS, Pocono Raceway, a superspeedway which is 2.5 miles
long and triangular in configuration, opened in 1971; and
WHEREAS, Pocono Raceway was the brainchild of Philadelphia
dentist Joseph Mattioli, who attracted an Indycar race to the
facility in 1971 and subsequently secured an agreement to host
an event for the national stock car series, which was one of the
first NASCAR events to be staged outside of the South; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's motorsports racing venues and events
provide great family-oriented entertainment across this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has benefited economically from
the longtime investment of a wide range of businesses that are
involved in the production and engineering of race cars and
motorcycles, as well as related services and products; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate
September 25, 2018, as "Motorsports Day" in Pennsylvania.
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