One of, if not the most important sporting event in Charlotte history was the first 250 mile automobile race held on the Charlotte Speedway, October 24, 1924. This race culminated efforts by a group composed of Osmond L. Barringer, C. Lane Etheredge, B. D. Heath, Ira C. Triplett, George Wadsworth, and others to build a $380,000, one and one-quarter mile, oval, wooden speedway. The Speedway owned 283 acres on the Columbia highway, 9 miles south of Charlotte. The enterprise was financed by a bond issue of $150,000 and stock sales of $230,000.
 
The winner of the 250 mile race was Tommy Milton, who broke the world's record by averaging 118.7 miles per hour. Earl Cooper placed second, and Bennet Hill, third.