The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1908-11-23
SAVANNAH HAS
RACING FEVER
City is Filled With Visitors to Auto
Races Which Begin We'd
nesday.

OdVanndN, Ga., NOV. Zo.-DeIer-
mined that there shall be no more
serious accidents to mar the closing
days of the practice period, the Off
Gals of the Auto Club of America, in
charge of the light car and grand
prize races, have warned the more
reckless of the foreign drivers that
greater care must be exercised in the
future.
Savannah is racing mad and more
than a score of arrests were made
Sunday for violations of the speed
laws.
The city already is filled with a
host of visitors, and when the final
rush arrives the hospitality of the
citizens, so abundantly in evidence,
will be taxed to the utmost to pro-
vide for the throngs attracted by the
races on Thanksgiving day and the
day before. Most of the drivers of
the light and cup cars will have their
final practice spins this afternoon.
Tuesday will be devoted to the last
touches of course preparation, and
Wednesday morning at IL o'clock
eastern time the light car race will
be started. The distance of this race
will be 205.8 miles, the little mos
quito fleet" of Is probable starters
making 81 laps of the Short 9S mile
Of &c
expected to average about As miles
an hour. The running consequently
will require approximately four and
one-half hours, the finish being
around $3.50 p. m.
The grand prize on Thanksgiving
day, which it is declared will eclipse
any road race ever held in this coun-
try and which contains many of the
worlds most famous cars and driv-
ers, will be started at a. m. eastern
time. The legal distance Of this race
is 401.0S miles, or 16 laps of course
which measures 25.13 miles. In this
race an average speed of from 81 to
70 miles an hour is anticipated, and
hours, bringing the finish to D. m.
or after. The Savannah Cup" as
the race popularity is known, is the
longest of the international events,
and will test the ability of the driv-
ers to the utmost.
The strain of hurting a car forward
at bursts of speed which will exceed
100 miles an hour and around high
banked turns, where the slightest de-
Walton means disaster and possibly
death, is a nerve-racking experience
at any time, but to keep up the ter
rife pace for six continuous hours,
covering a distance almost as great
as from Boston to Washington, is
placing a task upon the drivers in
which hazard is the predominating
element
The Savannah course is calculated
to coax the utmost of speed from the
drivers. Immediately after the start,
following a short turn to the left,
there is a straight away stretch of
four miles down the White Bluff
road Short stretches and easy turns
soon lead into second arrow flight
of 3h miles in length and 60 feet
wide. This part of the course was
specially constructed for the race, a
cut being made through a virgin for
est of towering pines.
Along this stretch, known as Fer
guson avenue, Navarro, one of the
italian drivers, has declared the lead
ing cars should make a speed of 10
miles an hour. The home stretch,
the third of the long stretches of the
course, is three miles long, and the
grandstands are so placed that the
cars can be seen coming down a
slight incline for nearly two miles
In the grand prize race there will
be five French, six Italian, three Ger
man and six American cars The for
eign drivers and cars are favored in
the speculation as to the outcome.
Two of the drivers engaged are for
mer winners of the Vanderbilt cup.
Victor H. Emery, who is to drive one
VI tAO 0Ol OdAOs WOh NhC oA0Ci
bilt in 1905, and Louis Wagner, who
this year is member Of the Italian
team, won the race in 1905. NaZar-
TO, the Italian, is credited with hav-
ing made the fastest time ever &C
complished in a road race when he
recently maintained a speed of "a
miles an hour in competition for the
Florio cup in Italy. Henry Fournier,
Louis Strang, FRANCHISE SZisz, Alexan-
Dire Cagno, Arthur Duray, Ralph De
Palma and others among the men
who will sit behind the big steering
wheels in Thursdays race have been
identified with feats Of automobiling
ever since the craze for speed had
its inception.
Servians and Austrians Clash.