Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-19
RACER RELATES
HIS EXPERIENCE
DRIVER TELLS HOW IT FEELS
IN CONTEST
TOO MUCH STRAIN ON MAN IN
TWENTY-FouR HOUR Run
Life Rlsked at Every chug Of Motor,
and Knocks TWO Years Out of
His Life Every Time
He Runs Race

''What are the sensations which a
racer feels in q 24-hour automobile
racer" asked a reporter OF FRANK
H. Lawwell, who was driver of the
Allen-Bingston car in the Brighton
beach races last week and who fin
ished fifth.
And the story which Mr.. Lawwell
told was exciting enough to have
scared any other man from ever par
ticipating in a 24-hour race.
IN the first phase. 1 was out of luck"
said Mr.. Lawwell, who, by the way Is
remembered by all who attended the
automobile races at the Driving park
as the gentleman in khaki who acted
as starter.
And luck is the whole thing in "a
hour race he continued. There may
he the finest and most complete cars
in the world entered in a 24-hour race,
but I have been in several and I have
yet to know where a car won except
by luck.
ST want to say that there is too muck
of a strain on man in a 24-hour race.
He realizes probably, as never before,
that his life is being risked at every
chug of the motor. but after while
he becomes used to whirling around
the track at less than a mile a, minute,
nut lle nluSL hGEp Ills eyes pp0AA AOA
every foot of track he travels.
I'm the first 16 hours of the race
was off the track three hours. Soon
after the race started, the Fiat car hit
the rear end of my car and broke
the rear axle. throwing the tank over
and causing the gasoline to ignite and
spread to our clothing and the wood
work of the car
II saw the danger my mechanician
s,,Ta
off the track into the field, where We
jumped out and rolled around in the
grass until we had extineuished the
flames. Then we put out the fire on
the car and were laid up for two hours
for the axle to be replaced.
Runs Into Lamppost
"On the eleventh hour my right
front tire. bursting. threw the car to
the outside of the track. A policeman
who was standing in the way did not
move and I had to run my car into a
lamp post to prevent hitting him. The
impact of the car cut the post in two,
and one end struck the policeman.
breaking both his legs and an arm. If
he had run when he saw the trouble I
was in he would have saved himself
from injury, but inquiry later showed
that he was drunk.
In the eleventh hour I jumped from
seventh to third place, Dut my nandS
became so cramped that I had to stop
TO have them bandaged up. While the
physician was doing it the man who
was driving my car allowed it to run
back TO seventh position, but when I
took the wheel again / worked until at
the end of the race l was in fifth
position
II was just back of the Stearns car
when il turned a somersault, killing
both occupants. and I had just time
enough to see what had happened and
steer to the other side of the track.
Track in Bad Shape
1T was the hardest 24-hour race I
ever was in, and the condition of the |
track was frightful. IT was full of bad |
ruts and holes. Thirty thousand peo-
pie saw the race. I covered 1918 miles |
MY best time was a mile in IS seconds |
''It knocks two years off mans life |
to be in one of those races, and doubt |
very much if shall participate in an
other one"