Sunday 27th January 1952

Troy Ruttman won the AAA big-car sprint race at Bay Meadows’ one-mile dirt track. at the Bay Meadows Speedway, San Mateo, California, US. A Bay Meadows crowd of 5,615 watched Troy Ruttman, driving promoter J.C. Agajanian’s JR car in which Johnny Mantz set the previous AAA 25-mile sprint car record over a one mile track at Atlanta in 1949, win the 25-mile feature in record time of 15 minutes, 15.45 seconds, finishing a half lap ahead of Johnny Parsons. Ruttman led qualifiers with another AAA one-mile sprint car record of 36.72 seconds, or 98.03 miles an hour, besting Tommy Hinnershitz’ March 29, 1949 mark of 37.80, or 95.23 mph, at Atlanta, Georgia … Legendary Clay Smith tuned Ruttman’s winning car.