Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-28
CROWD SWARMS
TO AUTO RACES
BARNEY 0LDFIELD PUTS UP
THRILLING EXHIBITION
DAY PASSES WITHOUT SERIOUS
MIsHAP OCCURRING
White Flyer Eliminated by Previous
Accident, but Various Contests
Are Close and Full of
Excitement

Six thousand or more people went TO
Ascot park yesterday afternoon 10
watch Barney Oldfield and other speed
maniacs race around the mile circuit
Luck was with the meet and the
drivers who made it. no one being hurt
though tickle fortune was sorely tempt
ed in the last event, when Maroon
car driven by Harold Stone blew up a
tire causing a steering knuckle to
break.
The car came to a full stop within
a hundred feet and Stone and his
mechanician coolly stepped out. The
first intimation Of trouble that the
crowd had was the loud report of the
tire just as the car was ready to enter
the upper turn after crossing the tape
at a clipping pace.
When the steering apparatus gave
way the front wheels spread apart, each
pulling the car in opposite directions.
Great gashes were cut in the track, but
it was the action of the wheels that
fortunately saved Stone and his
mechanician from possible injury.
The elimination of the White Flyer
from the contest by its accident Of the
previous day made the meet less inter-
esting, as the crowd wanted to see q
match race between it and the big six
cylinder Stearns. AS 1t was the first
heat of the sweepstakes was run be-
tween Soules and Oldheld, and the sec
ond heat between Hughes and Oldheld.
Hughes was unable to get any speed
out of the Christie car, and the contest
was devoid of all interest as competi-
tive event. but the exhibition by Old
field gave the crowd satisfaction.
Oldheld in his heat with Hughes
made the three miles in 1851, and is
credited with doing the last mile In
! "a Is seconds, which was the best time
of the day.
The first event was for rented cars
and was won by Jackson, which did
the five miles in 5;12, beating field OF
four, in which the Cleveland ran sec
ond.
A race for cars costing $4,000 or under
followed, and WAS won by the White
steamer Black Bess was entered ana
the old runabout that Fenner has
driven many thousands of miles made
a creditable run, but was unable to beat
the 80 horsepower car or the Marmon,
which was second. The time for the
five miles was 5:42 2-5.
Novelty Race Was Amusing
The third event was five-mile nov
| city event like that run the day before.
The cars made the first mile with the
driver only and picked up three pas
sengers for the second mile, unloadlng
them after it had gone once around the
oval The third mile was like the first
and the fourth was with the load. the
amusement was furnished by the pas
sengers when they tried to get out OF
tbe moving cars as they landed on
their faces or plowed chunks out OF
the surface with their hands and knees;
! A Marmon with a glass hood hnished
first in eight minues and thirty Sec
/ onds.
! An exhibition by Soules in a Stearns
car was the fourth event programmed.
/ Soules' driving was greatly admired by
the crowd. as he kept the throttle wide
/ open on the turns and hit the best clip
/ that the car would do all around the
| track.He made a flying start and was
/ timed in So 2-5 seconds.
The intrepid Barney came on next
with his ITO horsepower big Ben"
and reeled off an exhibition mile with
flying start in So 2-5 seconds, beating
! Soules' time with the smaller car by
only three seconds.
Barney's driving had all the dash
! that has made him famous on the
! track, and his method of taking the
turns by going wide from the OUTSIDE
of the stretch thrilled the crowd who
feared that he might go through the
fence on account of the terrific pace at
which he came down the stretch.
Hughie Hughes tried for an exhibit
/ ton mile with the Christie speed
marvel, but could not get the engine to
hitting on all four barrels, and there
fore did not finish.
The seventh event was a one-mile
novelty event in which the drivers had
to run back from the finish one hun
bred yards to their cars, climb aboard
and start. After making the mile they
/ left their cars the same distance from
the tape as that at which they were
originally and ran the remaining dis
lance TO the wire. Harold Longboat
Stone proved most fleet of foot at the
start and led the field around the track,
finishing an eighth of a mile ahead of