To celebrate the centennial of the famed Vanderbilt Cup Races, the Cradle of Aviation museum is hosting a special exhibit featuring a collection of antique race cars and special items on loan from the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum now through Sept. 18 and will culminate with a weekend celebration of the cup race this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18. The weekend will feature Time Trials, AutoCross, Karting and a vintage car parade on the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Course.

From 1904 to 1910, six William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. Cup Races were held on Long Island roads. These colorful, exciting and dangerous races were the most prestigious automobile events of their day and attracted a crowd of over 100,000 spectators who came to see 19 cars race on the public roads in Nassau County, including Jericho Turnpike, Seaford and Oyster Bay Road, North Hempstead Turnpike, Glen Cove Road, I.U. Willets Road and Lakeville Road.

The 1905 winner was Victor Hemery winning for France in a Darracq averaging 61.4 miles per hour. Joe Tracy, driving a Locomobile built in Bridgeport, finished third - the first time an American car ever place in international competition.

"This is an incredible opportunity to celebrate a part of Long Island's proud past," Claudia Oakes, COO of the Cradle of Aviation, said. "Long Island is a community that for many is defined by its highways and traffic patterns. For many of us the thought of Long Island as a hotbed for road racing is truly an incredible concept."

The force behind the races was William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., great-grandson of shipping and railroad tycoon Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and an avid sportsman, accomplished yachtsman and skilled auto racing pioneer. His goal was to encourage American automobile manufacturers to challenge the superiority of European cars while bringing a new racing sport to his native Long Island.

Among the planned items in the exhibit will be the 24-hp 1904 Pope-Toledo Vanderbilt Cup racer that finished third in the 1904 race; a 40-hp 1908 Simplex Speedcar of the model that raced in the 1909 and 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races; an original poster from the 1904 race that was given to William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. as a gift in 1942; the silver One-Mile Land Speed Record trophy given to William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. at Ormond Daytona Beach in January 1904; and rare Vanderbilt Cup Race and Long Island Motor Parkway photos, films and memorabilia.

The exhibit was developed and presented by Howard Kroplick. Kroplick has extensively researched the Vanderbilt Cup Races, accumulating more than 14,000 images and articles, along with a large collection of memorabilia.

The Cradle of Aviation Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is located on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Garden City, adjacent to Nassau Community College. For further information, visit www.cradleofaviation.org or call 572-4111.