The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-23
CROWD PREVENTS
FINISH OF TRIALS
Auto Racers in New York Are
Handicapped
MILE A MINUTE CLIP
Vanderbilt orders Race Stopped When
Machines Are Unable to Get
Through Crowd and Judges
Select Two Contestants.

New York, September PA vast throng
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 Tracey,
who won the race, Hubert Leblon second,
and II. N. Harding third, were the only
racers who were allowed to cover the en-
tire course. They thus qualified their ma
clinics for the cup race, and the Judges
selected machines driven by Herbert B.
Lytle and Walter Christie as the other
two, to represent American manufacture
ers In the big race. When the racers cross
ed the finish line of the 297-mile journey
after a sensational race in which one of
them made one circuit of the course at
the rate of a mile a minute, including nine
turns, the crowd of spectators thronged
down upon the course and engaged in a
scramble to see and congratulate the
drivers
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.
Orders Race Stopped.
Perceiying that the action of the crowd
would prevent a fair finish of the remain
ing two qualifers, W. X. Vanderbilt, Jr.,
the donor of the cup, and the judges or
dered the race stopped and held meeting
to select the other two cars to qualify.
Lytle and Christie were chosen because
they were in fourth and fifth positions
when the course was blocked. Lawell was
closely pressing Christie for the fifth
place.
Tracey's time for the entire course was
five hours q minutes and 40 seconds.
That of Leblon was five hours, 81 minutes
and % seconds. Harding's was six hours,
% minutes and 80 seconds.
Notwithstanding that the course was re-
garded as more dangerous than that over
which the cup race was run last year,
and the drivers sent their powerful ma
chimes over 1t at a speed at times as
high as 80 miles an hour and around sharp
curves, only one of the racing cars was
reported to have been smashed and from
that the driver Mongini, and his me-
chanlc escapes without serious injury.
Bursts a Tire.
Twenty miles from the starting point
the car driven by Mongini burst tie
and turning out of Inc road, crashed LILO
a telegraph pole ami vas lady dahl
aged Mongini was thrown out but land
ed safely.
There were numerous minor accidents
to the machines, chiefly damage to the
tires, so that the racers were trailed out
at long intervals over the course and
many had not completed the distance
when the winner finished.
Throughout the greater part of the
race the contest for arss place lay be-
tween Tracey, Leb'on and Lytie. Lyle
led the others for the first two rounds.
Leblon then took the lead, but alter
mated for the leadership in a round with
Tracey in the tenth and last lap, and
Tracey chung to his lead.
Tracey scored the swiftest record for
any lap of the day, covering the 20. II miles
in 20 minutes and 20 S-5 seconds. This
was in the sixth lap.