The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
SPORT FOR AUTOS
Race Meet on Ormond- Daytona
81 Beach in Florida Will Be
Well Attended.
Beach Is in Better Shape Than It
Has Been for Years
Past.

The Florida East Coast Automobile
association writes to it's New York
representative that the now we'll
known automob bile speed course, the
0fmond-Daytona Beach, is in better
shape than it has been for years, and
that records at the next tournament
will surely fall before the visitors, as
the Improvements in racing automo-
'loiles warrant the belief that they are
at least from five to ten seconds faster
than they were last year.
A good deal of curiosity has been
shown as to why the Ormond-Day-
tona Sea Beach is so fast and what
are the properties that make it fast
for automobile speeding.
1t was explained the other day by
John Anderson of Ormond, who says
that the secret of the hardness of the
beach is that the little coquina shell,
which is small fish shell of the
cookie variety, acts as binder, and
the result. is that the beach becomes
almost as hard as cement. The CO.
quina shell is found in great shillocks
in the neighborhood Of Ormond and
Daytona, and many of the houses are
built with coquina shells. ST. Au-
gustine's great hotels are largely built
of that material
The beach, which is fully thirty
miles long and from so to 100 yards
wide, is federal property, SO that there
can be no opposition to race meets,
and from a standpoint Of safety it is
the best course in the world.
The course is bounded on one side
by the Atlantic ocean and is perfectly
Ilevel. On the other side are the sand
dunes, which form a natural amplli-
| theater. These dunes are dotted with
palmetto and other tropical trees and
make an ideal, safe place for specs
! tators.
The Florida, East Coast Automobile
association writes that it has secured
twenty miles of copper wire and is
| erecting telegraph poles between the
/ mile posts which were put UP on the
beach last winter. This wire will be
used for signal and timing purposes,
as the races will be timed by cleo
tricity as last year.
| The races will start on Jan. 81, four
days after the closing of the New
York show, which will give the show
attendance two weeks between the
1 New York and Chicago national shows.
! All noted American drivers will UNI
/ dOubtedly be there, and 1t is reported
in New York that Chevalier ltene de
Knyff, the famous French driver Of
Paris, will be one of the competitors
at the Florida meet. G. S. Rolls, who
/ made worlds records during the Cor
/ don-Bennett races at Dublin, has been
i Invited by the Automobile Magazine,
and will also possibly come over, as
he is one of the noted worlds record
straightaway drivers Mr.. Rolls drives
4 a 11O-horse power car, and he recent
/ ly drove. a kilometre in &c 2-3 seconds.
which is nearly eighty-five mile an
hour rate. Should Mr.. Rolls come.
he viii bring the record automobile
with him.
George Cannon, the Harvard coll
! lege steam vehicle constructor and
driver, stated last week that it was
quite possible that he would go for
some records in Florida, and if the
! new machine which he is now build
ing is not ready, he will drive this
years machine, which is good for a
mile in fifty seconds on a straightaway
i course.
w. j. Morgan, 1 Maiden lane, New
/. York who is acting for the Florida
association, has secured the promise
of A. r. Pardington,. chairman of the
| American Automobile association, to
act as referee of the tournament, and
as the annual Florida winter tourna-
ment is strictly an amateur event, it
is being supported by the leading gen-
/ tleman drivers.