Harrington Wins Gold Cup Challenge Race at Thompson Speedway


It was a mad scrabble when 33 stock cars roar away in the feature race, the Gold Cup Challenge event at the Thompson, Conn. Speedway. The pilots, despite the mix-up straightened their cars out in the right direction and continued their merry chase with Hop Harrington winding up the victor. (Shany Lorenzet Photo)
June 11, 1950

By Shany Lorenzet
THOMPSON, Conn., June 11. — Hop Harrington of Providence, Rhode Island today won the Gold Cup Challenge Race. Driving a well-timed race and some luck riding the running board, Hop Harrington finished the 50-lap feature here at Thompson Speedway with his coil gone, winning himself a beautiful trophy.

In a spectacular main event in which 12 cars blew tires and were forced either through the fence or out of the racetrack, Harrington rode to victory.

On the tenth lap of the feature race a spin, then a pile up, then a role over, end over end halted the race for the first time.

Then George Lewis, who was leading after a restart, blew a tire and went through the fence on the 14th lap halting the race again and forcing Lewis out of action.

Dick Goumond broke into the lead on the restart and after leading for 18 laps blew a tire also and had to drop out of the race. Harrington who was running third at the time was coming up fast when Tommy Dupont, who was leading, blew a tire also and left Harrington to lead the field home to victory.


Hop Harrington

In the qualifying heats Bob Minor of Terryville flipped over the fence after blowing a tire and in another qualifying heat Tommy Cook of Holyoke, Mass. Hit the fence and rolled over and over completely demolishing his car. But the most spectacular flip was in the main event on the 10th lap when Carroll Sleeper of Carlisle, Mass. went end over end and landed up against the outside fence about 50 feet away from the track. At the same time a pile up happened on the track where four cars hit into a pile sending Dave Dabb to the hospital for observation and a check up.