Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-11
BARNEY 0LDFIELD
CAN'T KEEP OUT OF IT
WIZARD OF THE AUTO INTENDS
RACING AGAIN
Daring Driver Says He Is Fatalst
and Believes That Until His Time
Arrives All Will Be Well-Gained
FIFTEEN Pounds by His Recent Rest

Barney Oldfeld, the wizard of the
wheel, will be back in the harness
again with the same daring and skill
that always characterized his work.
Barney, unchanged with the excep-
ton of a few pounds additional weight
and bearing an ugly scar upon his
forehead, was at the Chicago automo-
bile show. The matter of being fifteen
pounds heavier than he was when he
was in st. Paul is due to his rest from
the nervous strain he undergoes when
he is driving; his scar is the one he
received at Detroit last fall when he
went through the fence. He is the
same old Barney, though, always
smiling and using the convenient little
phrase don't you know"
well, I'm going to get back in the
game again this season." he said IN
response to the query as to what he
was going to do this year. Il have
now been on the track for about four
years and 1 guess that l am good for
few yet. 1 shall never again race in
meets where the machines start side
by side, but you can look for me in all
others. In my match races shall
either race for time or with machines
starting at the opposite sides of the
track. In the getaway races there Is
too much of the element Of chance. The
man that strikes the pole first can
usually hold it although 1 have beaten
some drivers after they had beaten
me off the mark"
1T understand that you are now on
the stage in New York;" he was asked
the other day.
"Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you about
that. They have the representation OF
an automobile race, rather on the la
Ben Hur effect. don't you know" Bar
ney also fingers on that word "rather,"
too, since he has been on the stage
THE machines are hauled across the
stage by means of a windlass and the
scene is very realistic. With the
engines running at full speed and the
exhaust a tremendous noise and blue
flames shooting UP behind, we shoot
across the stage, my machine win
ming by a narrow margin. | haven't
essayed a speaking part as yet, al
though once in a while the crowd be-
comes so applausive that 1 am forced
to appear and make a curtain speech
81 do not think l would like to re-
main on the stage for any length of
time, although it is a good thing-finan-
cially."
You are getting fleshy."
well, yes, 1 am. have been leading
free and easy life for few months
away from care and responsibility and
1 have taken on flesh rapidly. hate
to tell it, but I am up around the 200
mark now"
What do you think of the records
made at the Ormond beach races?' he
was asked by friend.
1.-THE marks made down there only go
to show what can be done in the way
of speed. They haven't reached the
limit yet, but some poor devil will find
it out to his sorrow. They will make
one of these machines too fast, the en-
gine so powerful that 1t will throw itself
to pieces and then
IT don't think very much of those
races though. There is no skill re-
quired and all the operator needs to
know is how to get the most speed out
of his machine. You don't know how
fast you are going and it is only a
matter of keeping the machine in the
middle of the road"
LATTER your accident, Barney, didn't
you lose your nerve somewhat"
mo! I think the opposite was the
case. After the Detroit smash I went
out on the track the following week at
Cleveland and broke my own record.
I'm a fatalist. I believe that what is
to come will come any way in spite of
all.
"a lot of people think that nerve is
the only thing required to go after
records, but such is far from the case.
1t is a matter of skill. Anybody will
drive a machine, but it is another thing
to get a man to drive machine and
be able to get the best results. Other
men have taken my machine and never
have they been able to get the speed
out of it that / have.
"a successful driver is born, not
made. You have to be gifted with
something else besides nerve. am
going out on the track this season to
of the new ones"