[Closed] One of the greatest races nobody ever heard of:

One of the greatest races nobody ever heard of:

photo no longer available

this duel between a Mercedes-Benz and a Deusenberg in 1931 at Muroc Dry Lake in Southern California. Two of the Marx brothers, Zeppo and Chico, challenged Hollywood agent Phil Berg to a race, betting an unheard-of $25,000 on the outcome. The bet was placed when the Marx brothers drove up to Al Jolson's Sunset Blvd home in their Mercedes, and all got to talking about whether the Deusenberg or the Mercedes was faster. Famed racing driver and hot rodder Eddie Miller was hired to drive the Deusenberg, and Joe Reindl was the Mercedes driver chosen by the Marx brothers. When the race was held, lots of Hollywood personalities drove to Muroc to watch the race, including Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Gary Cooper and Mae West. Both cars were stripped down, hot rod style, to get rid of weight, and the face was flagged, as shown here. The Mercedes jumped to a lead, but by three miles the Deusenberg took the lead, empty the Marx brothers wallet of $25,000, a huge sum of money in the Depression. Both cars have since been restored to their former states. I found some of this information in an article in the Toronto Globe & Mail. Muroc was a popular place for Southern California hot rodders to time-trial their cars, until the Army Air Corps took it over around 1941, and made it into Edwards Air Force Base.