Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-23
AMERICAN CARS ARE CHOSEN
Competitors to Represent United States in
Vanderbilt Race Are Selected.
RESULT OF CONTEST OVER THE COURSE
one Car wrecked Against telegraph
Pole, but No one Seriously In
jured I'm Long Island
Contest.


NEW YORK, Sept IA vast throns
which rushed upon the course today pre-
vented the completion of the elimination
race to select FIVE American racing auto
mobiles to take part in the race for the
Vanderbilt cup. after three of the cars had
completed the race. Joseph Tracy; who
won the race. Hubert Leblon second and
II. N. Harding third, were the only racers
who were allowed to cover the entire
course. They thus qualified their machines
for the cup races and the judges selected
machines driven by Herbert b. Lyttle and
Walter Christie as the other two, to rep
resent American manufacturers in the big
race
When Tracy crossed the finish line of the
2N-mile journey, after a sensational race
in which he made one circuit of the course
at the rate of a mile a minute including
nine turns, the great crowd of spectators,
which greeted him with a roar of cheers,
thronged down upon the course and en-
gagged In a scramble to see and congratu-
late the winner. Leblon and Harding, who
were on the tenth and last lap, had to
drive their cars almost into the throng in
order to get across the finish line, but the
other racers. who were far behind, were
unable to force their way through.
| Nnn0eEDtu stops nhces
Perceiving that the action OF the crowd
would prevent a fair finish Of the remain
ing two quallhers. w. X. Vanderbilt, jr..
the donor of the cup. and the judges or
dered the races stopped and held meet
Ing to select the other contestants to quail
ltfy. Lyttie and Christie were chosen, be-
cause they were in fourth and fifth posi-
| lions when the course was blocked. Lawell
was pressing Christie closely for the fifth
place
| Tracy's time for the entire course was
| i've hours twenty-seven minutes and forty
Ave seconds. that of Leblon Ave hours fifty
one minutes and twenty-five seconds,
Harding's six hours twenty-seven minutes
and thirty-nine seconds.
Notwithstanding that the course was re-
| gsrded as more dangerous than that over
which the cup race was run last year and
the drivers sent their powerful machines
over II at a speed at times as high as
NINETY miles an hour and on sharp curves,
only one of the racing cars was reported
TO have been smashed and from that the
| driver, Mongini. and his mechanicisn es-
capped without serious injury. Twenty
miles from the starting line the car driven
by Mogini burst a tire, and, turning out
OF the road, crashed into a telegraph pole
| and was badly damaged. Moginf was
thrown out, but landed safely.
There were numerous minor accidents to
the machines, chiefly damage to the tires,
20 that the racers were trailed out at long
intervals over the course and many had
not half completed the distance when the
| winner finished.
Leaders Alternate.
Throughout the greater part of the race
the contest for first place lay between
rTw-.1 n
others in elapsed time COR the first two
rounds Leblon then took the lead, but
alternated for the leadership in each round
with Tracy until the tenth and last lap,
and Tracy chung to his lead.
Tracy scored the swiftest record for the
lap OF the day. covering the q n miles in
% minutes and 2sh seconds. This was in
the sixth lap.
Never was there a more odd gathering
OF spectators than that which thronged
at vantage points along the course to wit
ness the running of this race.
The start was scheduled for e. m. bu,
the spectators began to gather even befor,
midnight. Before the sun rose almost the
entire course presented an unique spectacle
Clustered about the starting line was a
great park OF automobiles and strung along
the crooked course were many hundred
more.
Spectators I'm Camp.
Knowing that It would be hopeless to try
to secure sleeping quarters at any OF the
little villages, the spectators formed ir
groups along the roadside for miles, whert
they found parking places, and many ever
brought camping outfits to prepare break
fast. Their campfres and the giaring head
lights OF their cars marked the course Ions
before daylight.
Hundreds passed the long hours in sleel
In their cars. No circus ever invited 9
more molly gathering than those as
sembled in the villages along the line.
The big grandstand on the south side Of
the course midway between Jericho anc
Hineola was crowded when the call for tn,
first starter went up.
There were twelve starters and the firs
was sent away promptly at a. M. with
Ernest Keeler driving IT,