Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-29
FAST MOTORCARS
SMASH RECORDS
NEW MARKS SET AT AGRlCUL-
TURAL PARK
STANDARDIZATION NEcoTiATEs
MILE IN 1905 "a
Stearns Roadster Shows Great Speed
During Trlals-Haynea "HIker"
Is Seen for the First
Time
BY L. GEORGE THOMPSON

From the way automobiles ran yes
terday afternoon on Agricultural park
track It seems certainty there will
be some fast time made, especially In
the fifty and one hundred mile events.
Every car except one was out during
the afternoon to be tried out and the
showing made by several was surprise
to those who had gone to the park to
watch them spin around the oval
The Stoddard-Dayton, with Frank
Seifert at the wheel, was credited with
mile In LOS "a, which was said To
be the fastest mile made during the
afternoon.
The little Ford runabout ran all after
noon, Keeling off mile after mile in 1:15
without apparent effort. On the turns
the little car had the advantage, as It
chung to the pole better than the larger
ones and consequently maintained
more constant rate of speed
The Stoddard-Dayton skidded wide on
every turn, but ran consistently.
A four-cylinder Tourist roadster did
some good work. getting up to a good
speed and maintaining 1t for long
stretches.
About the middle of the afternoon a
green Durocar runabout came on the
track and gained considerable popular
ity by the consistent manner It reeled
off the miles In the same time round
after round. 1t is entered in the hum
bred mile event, and as 1t Is conceded
that race will be won with an average
of more than ITO the Durocar's per-
Torrance of the afternoon will make 1t
one of the favorites.
Shows Great Speed
Danny Kuhl sent the Stears road
ster around the track for a few times.
and on the stretches showed something
of the great speed that the car Is capa-
BILE of. II there Is a prime favorite
among all the entries 1t Is the Stearns.A
although Ralph Hamlin's Franklin six
stands close to 1t in public favor.
Hamlin ran his car for eight or nine
miles. cutting his time down from loo
on the first mile to 1907.
Other miles were made in 1907 1-2.
1:0S and 1909, the slowest one being
made in 1:10. when Hamlin was over
taking another car and had to take its
dust for long time.
The Haynes Hiker was seen for the
first time and made several fast miles.
being credited by one watch holder
with 1904 "a, but the time was dis
puted and could not be verified. The
little yellow car seems to have plenty
of power and speed and its lightness
and short wheel base makes 1t fast on
the turns. which is a great advantage
on the local track.
The surprise of the day was sprung
late In the afternoon at nearly B
o'clock, when Lester Pattee came along
with a Cadillac roadster rated at 20
horsepower.
| He reeled off six miles in 7:20 and
then stopped to see IL the engine was
| heating any. as the car was new and
| had not been tried out at all before.
The radiator was hardly warm and
| the tires were COOL so that Pattee once
more took the wheel and sent the car
around a few times more. The Joke
was on one motorist who noticed just
as the car pulled out that 1t had no
| fan on, and he rushed over to Don Lee,
who had perched himself on the high
est point of the judges stand with
stop watch in hand.
Excitedly he told Lee the boys had
| forgotten to put any fan on the car,
but Lee only laughed as he told the ex-
cited one that they were afraid the
motor would not heat enough to get the
best combustion results, so they left
| the fan off.
From the way it is acting" said Lee
at guess we will have to take most Of
the water out of the radiator to get
| the little motor to warm up to the
proper degree for fast work" 4s
The Pullman twenty touring car ran
| as consistently as any car that was on
| the track and needed no tinkering
whatever. Minute succeeded minute and
the little motor purred away in the
most cheerful manner, sending the lit
! tie car with its racing body along the
| stretches and around the turns. always
pulling and staying on the track in the
| finest manner possible.
While the big cars can run rings
around the little fellows on the
stretches, they lose much of what they
gain when 1t comes to the turns. The
Haynes Hiker, the Cadillac 25. the
Pullman 20 and the little Ford run
about all stood the turns at a better
clip than the big cars. Handicaps are
unnecessary in the fifty and one hum
bred mile events, as the tire trouble
and cutting out on the turns will do
much to even up the time of the big
cars with the smaller ones, which do
not have so much trouble but more
| consistent rate of speed.
| -4%