Believed to be the only known example of this pennant from the 1909 Atlanta Speedway Auto Race- dubbed by Mark Dill as "THE FIRST SUPER SPEEDWAY". (Mr. Dill's wonderful website of the same name is a treasure trove of information regarding this race).
The first Indianapolis Auto Race occurred on Aug. 19th, 1909 resulting in multiple deaths among drivers and spectators. Following soon after on Nov. 9th, the first auto race occurred at the Atlanta Speedway "Humbled by a disastrous and tragic opening of the Indianapolis Motor speedway in 1909, the stakeholders of the Indianapolis automobile industry turned nervous eyes to a rival two mile speedway in Atlanta as it prepared to stage it's opening event Nov. 9 - 14 of that year". .."The opening day of racing (Atlanta Speedway) was a shot across the bow of the Indianapolis contingent as records set at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August were obliterated."
The Atlanta Speedway was built by Coca Cola founder and mayor of Atlanta, Ga. Asa Candler Sr., Asa Candler Jr. and Ed Durant, but closing after a single season. After sitting idle for many years, the racetrack property was purchased by the city of Atlanta for an airport, later becoming known as Hartsfield International Airport.
This pennant, along with a differently designed one also listed, came out of a recent Atlanta estate and is fresh to the collector market. This exceptional pennant was nicely preserved along with it's original bamboo cane staff. Pennant is comprised of three cloth sections stitched together and measures 25" x 9" including tassel. Front is gold flocked with "ATLANTA AUTOMOBILE SPEEDWAY- RACES 1909". Attached to the center is a printed paper image of the Atlanta Trophy valued at $10,000.00 in 1909. Condition for age and nature of this souvenir item is excellent, although there is some creasing to the center paper image. Among early auto racing collectibles, there is rare and extremely rare, with this pennant probably being one of a kind. 40.00 for careful flat shipping. Please be sure to view the companion pennant from this race listed separately. Thank you for your consideration.