The Springfield herald., 1906-10-12
GREAT auto RACE
VANDERBILT CUP WON By
FRENCH MACHINE.
PHENOMENAL TIME MADE
Two Hundred Thousand People View
the Contest on Long Island Road.
Too venturesomc Spectator In
stantIy Killed,

race lOr the Wllllam N. SauueTDlll,
Jr., cup. completing a record of three
straight victories in this event. which
is run over the turnpike OF Long Is
land, the center of the course being
about twenty miles from New York
City. Italy was second in the race,
France filled third and fourth places.
while Germany furnished the fifth car.
Only these five machines completed
the tenth and last lap of the course.
which was 2971 miles in length. The
total distance of the race was 297.1
miles, and Louis Wagner. driver OF
the winning car, made the distance in
300 minutes. 10 2-5 seconds, speed
of more than mile a minute for the
entire distance.
1t was G:15 Saturday morning, cold.
gray and misty after a night of fog.
when the first car was sent away on
its long journey. The others followed
at one.mile intervals. The first big
freak racing machine was showed TO
the tape. The engines crashed In {,
deafening roar at starting. The sec
onds were told off by an official. Be
ginning at ten" he counted backward
to zone" and then shouted in the
drivers ear Go"
There followed a sputter of fire, the
clank OF gripping clutches, cloud OF
oily dirt flung from the rear wheels
and the car was gone from view. The
start and finish of the five cars which
completed the entire distance, fol
lows:
No. lO1, Wagner. French-Start,
6:24 a. m; finish 11:14:1O 2-5;
elapsed time 4:5O:1O %.
No. 4. Lancia, Italian-Start G:1s;
finish 11:11;2S As; elapsed time
4:53:2S As.
No. IS. Duray, French-Start G:3l;
finish l1.24:44 40; elapsed time
4:53:44 As.
No. 10, Clement. French-start
6:2s; finish 11:2s:59 AIS; elapsed
time 5:Ol:59 AS.
No. 3. Jentatzy, German-Start
6:17: finish 11:21:3S; elapsed time
5:04:3S.
The Vanderbilt cup again goes into
the possession of France, and the next
time the cup will be raced for in that
country. The race was held in Am
erica this year through the courtesy
of last years winner.
One of the more than 100000 spec
tators who lined the course paid with
his life the penalty of too great curl
osity. He was necr the dangerous
turn in the course known as krug'a 3
Acc Noi
| the man ventured out on the road 10
get n better view of the others com
ing.
With the rush and roar of throbbins
engines the French car driven by
Elliott +. Shepard, an American,
dashed into the man, who, in the view
of thousands was hurled high in the
air
When picked up many yards from
the scene of the accident the man was
dead. His skull had been fractured,
both legs broken and he was fright
fully crushed. After few minutes he
was identified as Kurt l.. Gruner OF
Passaic, n. ].
Shepard plunged ahead at 90 miles
an hour along the straight stretch
leading to the judges stand.
He was completely unnerved. how
ever, and did not finish his seventh
lap. 1t was given out that he had
broken a crank shaft. Shepard was
running sixth, and was in contend
ing position when the accident oc'
CURED.
Joseph Tracy in his American car
crashed into a crowd OF men and boys
and seriously injured Sylvester Bald
win, boy, of Norwalk. Connecticut
Several others were slightly hurt
Tracy held to the course.
Doctor Weilschott. an amateur
driver of an Italian car, lost control
of his big 120-horse power machine on
the first round He ran down two boys
on bicycle, then plunged down a
3O-foot embankment. Both the driver
and his mechanician We're picked up
unconscious, but were quickly revived.
The injured boys are John Brooks and
Robert Ten Eyck, both living near the
course.
1t was impossible to keep the i'm
mense throng off the course. They
swalmed upon the roads, breaking
down the danger fences, although
they were built strongly.
The blare of the bugle and the cry
of Car coming" had no effect upon
the crowd They held their positions
on the course until the cn-cominS car
was within 100 yards.
Then, like the opening of an in
verted wedge. the crowd gave way
with reluctance, leaving barely room
for the rushing car. with its powerful
engines splitting fire and hames and
roaring like battery of small calibre
artillery, to dash through.
One false motion of the hand clutch
ing the steering gear, and an accident
like that of the express train crashing
into 100 people would have resulted.
The accidents that did occur were
, early in the race. before 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
fastest lap OF the day, thereby estab-
fishing n new record for the course
He made his fifth circuit for the 29.71
miles in 90 minutes, u seconds.
After the close of the race the rae.
ing board of the American Automobile
Association held meeting and de-
cided that no more races should be
under the auspices of the association
over the course used.