Visalia Street Racing Over a Century Agosg

Historically, Visalia is known for its many interesting places, events and activities. It's the birthplace of the Visalia Stock Saddle, home to the California Civil War military post called Camp Babbitt, and it was headquarters for the infamous train robbers known as Evans and Sontag. All of these and many more make Visalia an interesting study in local history.

But there was another event that is oftentimes neglected when one looks at the town's history - automobile racing.

Legally sanctioned by the American Automobile Association, auto racing began in Visalia on July 4, 1912, as part of Independence Day festivities, and for the next five years, Visalia hosted this fan favorite. One of the most memorable races was held on July 5, 1915, and those that saw it, talked about it for years.

Preparation for the 4th of July festivities began months before the actual holiday. James Boyer, secretary of the Visalia Board of Trade, was in charge of the three-day holiday spectacular with the big 150-mile auto race planned as the finale. It was set for the third day, July 5th, at 1:30 p.m. July 3rd and 4th were set aside for musical concerts, dances and patriotic programs.

Some of the racers were local area drivers with previous Visalia racing experience, but word had spread and big city drivers now had their eye on the prize. By April, Boyer had already received inquiries about the competition from a Detroit, Michigan auto manufacturer, a driver from San Jose, and another racer from San Francisco. July 4th festivities were always popular, so big crowds were expected, but offering free auto races always increased attendance.

The race and everything connected to it was paid for by local businesses and individuals, with financial help from driver entry fees and the sale of racing programs. The biggest expense for the event was the care of the race track. It was not an official track, but rather a course of a little over three miles of city streets.

The starting and ending point of the race was Main and Encina streets where a grandstand was built. The race course was Main Sreet east to Garden Stteet, then south to Tulare Avenue, west to Giddings Street, and then north back to Main. Much of the route had no barriers, just rope to identify the course.

Some of the more critical turns like at Giddings and Main were banked with dirt at an angle to allow racers to make turns at a faster pace. Hay bales were strategically placed along the route to protect spectators from wayward drivers. Some of the roads were paved while others were packed as hard as possible with sand and oil. Hours were spent by workers with teams of horses to make the course ready.

The day before the race, the racecourse streets were shut down to regular traffic from 3:30 am to 6:30 a.m. to allow drivers a chance to test drive it and preview the condition of the streets and route. Tom McKelvey, a Fresno racer, accepted the offer.

Early Sunday morning, July 4th, McKelvey took his Cleveland racecar with his brother John onto the course for a test drive. At Garden Street near Willow, G. W. Hibler entered Garden Street from an alley with his horse drawn garbage wagon.

McKelvey couldn't stop and crashed into him. Hibler's horse was killed and the brothers were seriously injured. Hibler, who wasn't seriously hurt, ultimately received $25 from the Board of Trade for the loss of his horse. The incident cast a shadow over the race, but it went on without McKelvey.

On July 5th at 1:30 p.m., about 18 racers began the grueling 48-lap, 150-mile race. The 3.1-mile course took its toll on the cars and the drivers alike. A number of them dropped out of the race. Those that survived scrambled for position to finish the race.

When it was over, Roy Francis from San Francisco driving his Peugeot won in record time - two hours and about 13 minutes, averaging over 80 miles per hour, a full three minutes faster than his closest competitor. His finish earned him $1,000 in prize money. Local driver Billy Campbell finished fourth earning him $100.

The three-day Independence Day festivities were a big success, but the auto race was clearly the favorite with about 10,000 fans lining the streets to watch. It was called the "most successful in the history of auto racing in Visalia." The Board of Trade promised another race in 1916.