The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-23
SPEED MADNESS
AT ITS HEIGHT
Auto DriUers Dare Death in
a Mad Rush for
Victory.
Elimination 7rialsin Wander.
bilt Race a Series of Es-
capes and Accidents.
New York Herald Special Service.

New York Herald Special Service.
X7ANDERBILT CUP COURSE.
" Sept. 22.-"Joe wins,'' little
woman in blue shrieked out the
words as "Daredevil'' Joe Tracy in his
hot, clustering locomobile shot past the
grandstand and across the finish line
first in the Vanderbilt cup elimination
race today. The little woman in blue
was Millicent Taylor, and the fact that
Zoe won the race meant lot for her.
for in winning the race he won her, too.
AS Tracy steered his machine off the
course Miss Taylor, who had been UNI
der an intense nervous strain for more
than five hours, collapsed and hung in
faint across the grandstand rail.
Tracy covered the 297 miles in three
hours twenty-seven minutes and forty
five seconds. He covered the 29.7 miles
Of the sixth lap in twenty-nine minutes
and Twenty-Five seconds. All thru the
race his were the most sensational
bursts Of speed and with good luck and
Judgment he carried off the prize.
that worked with the precision of a
watch, for the first eight laps ran him
close race. LIE Blom made the last
and part of the Eighth lap with a fat
tire. His time was five hours ffty-one
minutes and twenty-three seconds.
Harding, in Haynes car, finished third
in six hours twenty-five minutes and
thirty-nine seconds.
Crowd Swarmed Out.
These were the only contestants to
passed around the course that Tracy
had finished the crowd swarmed into
the road, and many serious accidents
were narrowly averted. At 1850
o'clock W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr., called the
race off and telephone instructions were
sent to all timing points to stop the
racing cars to avoid running down pc
destrians. Lyttle and Christie, the
former. in a Pope-Toledo and the latter
in Christie car, had hard luck, but
managed to lead the others left in the
race when Mr.; Vandesbilt called it off.
and got fourth and fifth positions re-
spectively' Lawwel in a Prayer Miller
machine was pushing Christie at the fin
ish and would probably have beaten him
in the full distance.
But one serious accident marred the
race. Mongini, the italian chauffeur
who had been engaged to drive the
Matheson car, insisted on starting al
tho both his wrists were sprained. He
could not steer and came to grief on the
first round at Lower Manhassett at the
foot Of Spinney's hill. The car
climbed an embankment, struck a tele-
gini and his assistant, John Greene.
escaped death by miracle, both were
badly bruised.
Accidents to machinery put several
cars out early in the contest, Roberts,
the youngest driver in the race, came
to grief in Thomas car No. 7, on the
first round. The Frayer-Miller car took
fire at Roslyn and went out Of conf
mission. No. Thomas, driven by Cal
kept going until the sixth round when
a broken magnet retired it. Young
Roberts made fresh start after q de-
lay of two hours and was heartily
cheerd for his pluck.
Tracy Drove Sensationally.
Tracy made the best time and drove
the most sensational race. In the
fourth round he covered the course in
20 minutes and Al seconds. On straight
stretches he did better than eighty
miles an hour.
The weather was bad all through the
stand at intervals. A wind blowing
forty miles an hour made the time Of
the winner more remarkable.
Tracy had narrow escape on the
hairpin turn. Belden, driving one Ut
the Frayer-Miller cars, slid around the
curve with brakes set and was unable
to go farther. One of his wheels re-
fused to work, the brake being set
against it.
His machine was directly in the mid
die Of the road when Tracy, driving
He had lost time through a fiat wheel
and was trying to make it up. He
struck the hairpin round and was faced
with the car Of Belden in the middle
of the road. Like flash he steered
past it, while the spectators on the
hillsides held their breath.
His car dashed between the car Of
Belden and telegraph pole. It looked
as though there was not room enough
to pass, but there was barely six inches
to spare, and going at six miles min
ute he went. through. He was cheered
for his driving, but it looked like his
finish for the fraction of second.
= One Into Ditch.
Lawwell, in one of the Frayer- Miller
cars was a lucky fellow when he failed
to negotiate the turn at Thomaston at
the second lap and went off into
and his machinist flew through the air.
They were up on their feet in an in.
slant, got the onloekers to help them
night the car and were on their wav
with less than ten minutes DELAY. The
mlshap told against the car, however,
as it showed dirt in it's carburetters
later.
Burt Dingley. who was acting az
machlnlst for Lyttle in the Pope-Toledo
car, met with peculiar accident. IA
Bulls Head two men stood in the road
to hand him gasoline can. tryinr
to take the oil on without slackin9
speed Dingley miscalculated and the
can held out to him struck him Ia the
face rendering him unconscious for over
minute. He continued in the car
Later the car blew out a tire with .
report, like a cannon at Jellico on the
keeler's Oldsmobile behaved badly AZ
G IN start on account Of it's carburetters.
1t did not reach the Manhassett tnrn
until 1907 O'Clock, altho it was first
away at 8 O'Clock. Keller got ont ia
make repairs at Manhassett and while
the crowd were about the machine the
gasolene fared up, the crowd scattered.
expecting an explosion, but Keller and
MS machlnlst put out the blaze. Belden
IN Frayer-Miler, while making the
second round, came to stop on the
turn at Bulls Head. It was found that
three stopcocks had broken. Tracy
was laundering, along in his Locomo-