The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-06-20
DEFEATED THE KNOX CAR BY
THE HAIR RAISING MARGIN
OF I MINUTE AND S
SECONDS.
WINNERS FEAT Is
MOST REMARKABLE
Fell Back in Tenth Lap, But Recov.
cred in 15th--Broke Valve in
nth, and Finished Race
With cylinoers--
Many Accidents.


horse power Buick car driven by
Louis Chevrolet won the Cohe cup,
the major event of the Western
Vanderbilt races over 395 SIS mi.es
of the Crown Point-Lowell course to-
day by the hair-raising margin of one
minute and five. seconds. Bourque
in control of a Knox, who captured
second honors, made so desperate a
bid for victory that not until the win
ming machine flashed over the tape
was the result at all certain to the
frantic spectators.
1t was eight hours, one minute aud
thirty-nine seconds after Starter Wag.
ner had uttered the word go" till
the Ultimate victor had crossed the
line for the last time. Owing to the
fact that he was tenth In field Of
perilously close to him in the final
laps, the Knox car, number on the
list, was the first to cross the tape,
his time being S:02:4i At this tire
Chevrolet was somewhere near the
beginning OF the long sought stretch
with eight minutes in which to seize
the prize. AS he flashed by the sta
tions along this part of the course,
the news OF his location, transmitted
by wire to- the Judges ra,f
through the watchers wrought them
to climax of enthusiasm. All eyes
were turned to the wooded hilltop to
the south over which the speeding
car would be first discovered. but the
wigwagging of red flags along the
route heralded the approach of the
victor The intense anxiety attend
ing his movements to the last foot
was due in the main to the sense of
the possibility of disaster envolved
by multitude of rough experiences
characterizing the day.
A tabulated statement shows Chew
rolet's fastest lap was the third, his
time around that being 24:11, and his
slowest was the tenth circuit, 4401.
His average was 1926 miles an hour.
The fastest lap in the race was %: "a
made by Denison with Knox. The
total distance was 1856 miles COW
cred in II laps of 1927 miles each.
The records of those who finished
are as follows:
Buick Chevrolet s:01:39.
Knox Bourque) S:02:44.
Inany1nnhila (Dphnrfunpl ~
Fiat (Hearnel S:22:04.
Stcddard-Dayton (Englebeck) 81:
2G;d3
In the eleventh lap Chevrolet broke
ner that it coud not be replaced and
he was forced TO run the rest of the
day with three cylinders, which mad
his performance all the more remark.
able, To offset this misfortune, 10 a
measure, the sueprior skill with
which he and his mechanic,an
handled the oil cans during a stop at
the repairing pits In spectacular com
petition with the team of another
racer gained him time of immense
value later in the day
The race, which showed an aver.
average Of 1926 miles an hour. was
unusually slow for cars of the 60
horse power class. This was even
slower than that of the light power
machines in the Indiana trophy event
yesterday which reached an averaye
speed of 51h miles.
The most conspicuous feature of to-
days race from a technical point of
view was the wonderfully consistent
performance of Chevrolet. From the
start when for six laps he ran neck
and neck with Denison. in command
Of Knox, his average scarcely
varied is seconds Den son being
put out Of the running. Robertson, at
the wheel of a Locomobile. took M
he task of bearing the leading Buick
and after running a close second for
three laps jumped into the lead in
the tenth and held IL twice around
again when Chevrolet fell back.
For the next three rounds Cheyro-
let was worried. Seeing him worn
down and all but vanquished by he
terrific pace he had set himself. his
assistants at the repair pit repeatedly
signalled him to give mp. but he de-
clined. and summcning up all his
falling strength. sprang into TIE lead
in The fourteenth lap and was never
headed.
Bourque's performance while not