The San Francisco call., 1908-12-07
CROWD OF 10000
WATCHES TAME
AUTO RACES
Highly TOufed Sweepstakes
Narrowed Down to Old
field and SOuIeS

stand oVerf7oWed the paddock and
swarmed out upon the track was the
sole redeeming feature OF the long her
aided automobile races at Tanforan yes
terday afternoon The 10000 or more
persons who graced the occasion with
their presence found far more enjoy
nent in looking at one another than at
the races. From a sportsmans point
OF view there We're no races at all, and
The highly touted sweepstakes narrowed
down 10 a contest between Oldheld and
Soules. the two stable mates who have
been touring the country together. Nat
iirallv Oldheld won. and he was all by
himself AT the finish
The historic racetrack has not known
such a crowd since the California jockey
club deserted IL for Oakland six or sew
On years ago. The followers Of the rae
ing game smiled blendly when they
gazed into the grand stand and then
shifted their gaze TO the betting ring
and out upon the track. It brought
back the memories of the old days,
when the steed and not the devil car
ruled at Tanforan.
And the big assemblage was disap-
pointed. Unfortunately, the races were
poorly handled. They did not start on
time. the full program was not reeled
of and the numerous local cars, whom
the local followers of the game wanted
10 see in action. did not materialize.
When the final OF the sweepstakes was
reached Oldheld and Soules were the
sole survivors and. Of course, their ef-
forts did not work the crowd up to
fever heat
WHITE DOES FAST MILE
The White Flyer. the crack track
racing car. shot around the track in
50 seconds. establishing a new record
This the fastest
mile Of the day. The best that Oldhe1d
could DO at this distance was ! minute
and 8 seconds.
The White car was driven by Gus
Seyfried, a local boy, and he was given
a great hand by the crowd for his re-
rnsrksble exhibition. Up TO yesterday
morning he had never piloted the rak-
ish looking car. and considering that
he had TO contend with a muddy, slip
perry track, his performance was all the
more noteworthy.
When Seyfried went against Souies
in the second heat to qualify for the
sweepstakes he was routed. Getting
OF badly, the White car began TO back
FIRE before IL had gone a mile. and the
defective pilot light soon put IL out OF
commission entirely. The car was with
drawn after two miles OF going. the
last quarter Of the distance being
ment threatened to destroy the racer.
The speedy little California car. the
Comet, driven by Frank Free. could not
make good against Oldheld, and the
crack driver of the big Stearns racer
chugged home as he pleased in the first
heat Of the qualifying round of the
sweepstakes His time for the three
miles was sos As.
OLDFIELD AND sOULES
The defeat Of the two local cars left
only Oldheld and Soules to fight il out
for the final of the sweepstakes, which
by this time developed into only an or
oinary exhibition contest instead Of the
auto sensation Of the year. Oldfieid
took the rail at the start and after
that everybody knew what was going
10 happen. Soules never came near him
in the five miles
The showing of the far famed Chris
tie car was also failure Driven by
G. II. Hughes, the racer got off badly
and ere il had progressed well on its
way it dropped a cylinder. Hughes did
the best he could TO give the crowd a
run, but from the way the car was
running it could not beat the Geary
street cable, SO this was cut out.
The second race on the program was
all in favor of the White Steam stock
cars. This event was listed as a con-
test for machines costing more than
$500. Besides the Whites a Buick
was the only machine entered, and il
was late In getting away. 1t did not
figure Don Whaley OF this city drove
the winner three miles in s-24
These two cars. together with the
other Whites, We're equipped with Dia-
mond tires
The opening event on the card. for
stock cars costing $1,000 or less. was
EW
model no other cars being entered.
In the exhibition miles against time
both Soules and Free could DO no
better than 1:05.
FINAL RACE EXCITING
The final race of the day, a free for
sll i've mile chug, held more excite
ment for the spectators than any OF
the others on the card, but the handf-
Gaping system in vogue was too COM
the Comet driven by Cooper. the time
being $40. A Buick Stearns. White
and another Comet also started. The
" hite was Withdrawn. manager Haw-
kins claiming that the car was not
given fair start
There were several events carded
which were not pulled off and the
many local cars the spectators hoped
70 see IN action were conspicuous by
their absence. The crowd began To
thin out ere the program had been
half completed, and when the cars lined
up for the last race scarcely more than
half the spectators were there to
view Il.
such line Of automobiles of every
make and description as whirred out
Of the track after the races was never
seen IN the vicinity before. The roads
IN the vicinity of Tanforan were in bad
shape and delays and tieups were fre.
suUent both coming and going. but
fortunately no serious accident nnarrec
0he days pleasure.