The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-25
AMERICAN GAR WINS AUTO CUP Vanderbilt Trophy is the
 Reward. SPEED OF 64 MILES AN HOUR Robertson With Locomobile is the
 Victor. Despite An Accident at The Finish He Comes With Great Burst
 of Speed And Defeats

Robertson Locomobile. started s:45:00: finished. 10:45:4s 1-5; time, 4:00:4s I-5.
 Lyttle-Isotta. started. 6:35:Oo; fin. | ished 10:37:3e 2-5; time. 4:02:3s 2-5.
 Distance. 25S.06 miles.
 Winner average speed 64.3 miles per hour.
 Best previous American record e42i
 miles per hour. made by 5-Lyttle on same course two weeks ago. Attendance. 250, 900.
 Weather overcast with rain during night and in early morning. Course wet and treacherous.
 Motor Parkway, Oct, 24-George Robertson. in a 120 horsepower Loco 1 mobile. an American made machine. won the fourth Vanderbilt Automobile cup race on the New Motor Parkway in Long Island today and at the same time created new Americah record for long distance automobile contests. Herbert Lyttle, driving an Italian Isotta car. of fifty horsepower was second. less than two minutes behind the winner. These cars were the only ones to officially finish the race, the great crowd of not less than quarter of a million persons who had filled the
  vantage around the course, crowding on the track after the first two cars had run across the finish line.
 To avoid the possibility of serious accidents 1t became necessary for the track officials to declare the race off after the second car had finished.
 At the time of the finish W. K. Van derbilt, Jr.'s 110 horsepower German Mercedes. driven by W. c. Luttgen. was running third with a safe lead. so that to 1t must be accorded third place, although 1t was not permitted to finish.
 Car strikes Boy.
 The over running of the course at the end of the race not only brought the contest to sudden and unseemly end but 1t resulted in a casualty-the running down of one of the spectators by the No Locomobile driven by James Florida. Florida had been warned that the race had been called off and he came full tilt upon the crowd. When. realizing that oi he con,o io not pass, he applied the brake, on!y too late. The big racing machine hit the crowd squarely and when ney fell hack David Schuli. boy Of 1s lay In the road with a fractured leg.
 While today's race lacked some Of the clements of interest found in .tne former Vanderbilt cup contests when many famous machines from their own iand' nevertheless was replete with excite ment and suspense.
 After the hopes of thousands who had pinned their faith To Lewis Strang III his French Renault had been dashed when Strang was delayed half an hour at the start by triYal accident to his machine; and then was ioreeo to withdraw altogether at the end Of the third lap, the chief interest cen- tered in Lyttle and Robertson. They were fighting hard every minute and after the seventh lap it was duel 10 the end with Robertson showing the way to the closest margin. Both whizzed past. covering rounds in less than twenty-one minutes; sometimes for short stretches, shooting through snace at the rate of 100 feet a second and electryfying the crowds by thelr dashing. The battle was fought all the way. the other cars passing by al- most unnoticed.
 At the conclusion of the last lap but one, only four minutes and ten seconds separated the two. Robert son was in the lead but the hearts of the ten thousand assembled in ana around the grand stand stood still when it was announced that the Am erican car had jumped the road and landed in the middle of field at PIainview Onward thundered the Italian car, every precious second cut ting down the lead of his rival. One minute. two minutes. three minutes, passed. and no word came of how badly Robertson had fared.
 The four minutes of margin which the American driver had over his rival passed and still there came no word Just then the announcer put up his mega ph one and a hush fell over the Robertson, the announcer cried out. had only been delayed two minutes by his mishap and he was once more on the rodd A few minutes later with a fine burst of speed Rob- ertson came into view and with roar his big machine dashed across the finish line.
 The Vanderbilt cup race was over and the American car had won.