Rocky Ford enterprise., 1906-10-12
GREAT auto RACE
VANDERBILT CUP WON BY
FRENCH MACHINE.
PHENOMENAL TIME MADE
Two Hundred Thousand People View
tho Contest on Long Island Roads
Too venturesome Spectator In
stantIy Killed.

the third international automobile
race for the William X. Vanderbilt,
Jr.. cup. completing record OF three
straight victories In this event, which
In run over the turnpike OF Long Is
land. the center OF tho course being
about twenty miles from New York
City. Italy was second In the race.
Franco filled third and fourth places.
while Germany furnished the nth car.
Only these 1--WE machines completed
the tenth and last lap OF the course.
which was 29.7l miles In length. The
total distance Of the race was 2SI1
miles. and Louis Wagner. driver of
the winning car. made the distance In
200 minutes. 10 90 seconds. n spc"d
Of more than mile n minute for tho
entire distance.
II was G:l5 Saturday morning. cold.
gray and misty after night OF fog.
when tho nrst car was sent away on
It's long Journey. The others followed
Mt anc.mIlc intervals. The hrst bic
freak racing machine was showed to
tho tape. The engines crashed In u
dcafening roar at starting. Tho sec
onds were told on by an ofiirial. Bo-
ginning mt 'tcn." he counted backward
to "onc- md then shouted In the
drivers car. 60"
There followed sputtcr Of hrc. tho
ciank of gripping clutches. cloud of
oily dirt nung from the n'ar wheels
and ,hc car was gone from view. The
star, anil finIhh OF the Nv, cars which
completed tho entire distance. fol-
lows:
No. Ioi. Wagner. Frcnch-s'ar'.
s:u a. m: finish il:ii:io 70:
elapsed time %:so:io IS.
No. 4. I.ancIa. i,aiIan-s,art c:is:
nniSh ii:ii::s t-s: elapsed limo
t:ba:3s IS.
No. IS. Durny. Frcneh-start c;3i;
nn'sh ii::t:n 81: clapHcd time
No. 10. Clement. Frcneh-siar,
s:.s: finish Ii::e:ss iis: riapnna
tim. s:0i:5s IS.
No. J, J.n,atsy. Gcrman-s,art
e:l7: nnIsh ii::i:,s: elapsed um'
s:ot:ss.
Tn. Vanderbilt, cup again roca into
III. possession Of France. and the next
tim. the cup will be raced for In that
country. Tho race was held In Am
erica this year through tho ooarscny
Of last years winner:
One Of tho morc than 100000 sprr
fators who lined the eourH" paid with
his life the penalty Of a TOO rrraf curl
T. pa
turn In tho eourar known ns kruv's
corner. Two cars had flashed by when
the man ycn,urr,i out on the road TO
r-, a better yicw Of the others com
Ing.
With tho rush and roar af ihrobbins
engines tho French car driven by
Elliott =. Shepard. an American.
dashed Into the man. who. In tho Si-~
Of thousands was hurled high In the
air.
When picked up many yards from
the seen. Of tho accident the man was
dead. His skull had been fractured.
both legs broken and he was fright
fully crushed. After a few minutes h.
was Identified as Kurt l. Grusef OF
Passaic. y. J.
sbop,rd plunged ahead nj 50 miics
an hour along the straight stretch
leading TO the judges stand.
Hc was completely unncrtcd. how
ever. and did no, finish his seventh
lar. Il was given out that he had
broken a crank shaft. Shepard was
running sixth, and was In contend
ing position when the accident &C
Cured.
Joseph Tracy In his American car
crashed into a crowd OF men and boys
and seriously injured Sylvester Bald
win. a boy. Of Norwa1k. Connecticut
Several others we.c siish'ly hurt.
Tracy held to the coursc.
Doctor wciischott. an amateur
driver Of an italian car. lost control
of his big isohorac power machine on
the nrs, round. He ran down two boys
on a bicycle. thea plunged down q
5o.foot embankmcnt. Both the driver
and his mcchanician were picked M
uncon scious. but were quickly revived.
The injured boys are John Brooks and
Robert Ten Eyck. both living near the
course.
Il was impossible to keep the I'm
mense ,hrung on the course. They
s~armed upon the roads, breaking
down the danger fences, although
they wer. built strongly.
Of "Car coming" had no effect upon
the crowd. They held their positions
on the course until the on coming car
was within 100 yards.
Then, like the opening Of an In.
vcrtcd wedge. the crowd gave way
with reluctance. leaving barely room
for 'hc rushing car. with Its powerful
engines splitting FIRE and n" mes and
roaring like a battery Of small calibrc
artillery. to dash through.
One false motion Of the hand clutch.
ing the steering gear. and an accident
like that of the expfess train crashing
into 100 people would have resulted.
The accidents that did occur were
carly in the race, biiore the majority
OF the spectators became SO bold.
Tracy, of the American team, win
ner OF the American elimination trials,
was on his ninth round when stopped.
He had the satisfaction Of driving the