Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-07-29
DAANG AO1O EXPLOIT
INSTANCE WHEREIN w. X. VAN
/ pERsIETs JR., SAVED Hls-LlFE
y WHILE SPEEDING.
WANTED TO BREAK RECORD,
/! ALMOST BROKE HIS NECK.

Chung, by One Hand to Steering Wheel
as Accident to Flying Car, Going
Ninety Miles an Hour, Lifted Him In
! Aireonslong Island Motor Parkway.
Alonefna big 100 horsepower racing
automobile, running ninety miles an
hour on the Long Island motor park
way, Willie x. Vanderbilt, Jr., re-
Gently performed an almost unbeliev-
able feat Of good driving and cool
courage that saved him from being
crushed to death In. the most danger
GUS sortsof accident.
Ever since he has been operating
high powered machines, a matter of
ten or twelve years. young Mr.. Van
derbilt has enjoyed title among ex-
perts which the public has seldom
heard. They call him, and mean it,
"the best racing driver In America. !"
Various spectacular exploits Of the
hairbreadth sort made his reputation.
But. none Of his feats quite equals his
latest one.
Mr.. Vanderbilt.drove from his home
at Lakeville to the race course, which
he helped to found, In his new SIS, 5000
Renault machine.
Started Out For a Record.
When he got upon the concrete sur
face Of the parkway, over which part
Of the Vanderbilt cup race of last
year was run. the idea occurred to
him to go after the record of the
course. Recently one Of the profess
sional drivers covered the twelve miles
of concreted roads in eight minutes
fiat. The young millionaire sportsman
thought he could beat this with his
new car.
He sent the Renault, under wraps"
one fast lap in trife over ten min
utes, taking the time by stop watch
fastened to his steering wheel. Then
he opened up little more and made
a second lap In Q shade above nine
minutes. The third lap was the one
he really intended to be the record
breaker. There was no other car on
lA6 SOuxSCp dAu SOASAL1VuS WtIo pSG.
feet for a wonderful speed test.
With a. fast flying start at Westbury,
Mr.. VanderbQtshoved his gas and spark
controls wide open, and the big racer
leaped ahead with roar Of explosions.
1t doomed across the little wooden
bridges that carry the course over the
public highways and racketed through
theNcutouts where it runs on the level
at eighty and then ninety miles
an hour, with the daring driver hold
ing it steady to the center Of the TWEEN
ty foot road.
The Renault shot past the big grand
stand, skidded around q right hand
curvesinto the next to the last straight.
away stretch iof.$he twelve niles and
plunged forward toward Central park
away ahead ofsthe record. It seemed
likely that'Mr. vandeRbilt would cover
the course in a good many seconds less
than eight minutes. which means rav-
cling more than ninety miles an hour.
ins Peril When Crank Pin Broke.
But In the Central park stretch the
universal joint broke. That is the
mechanism that transfers the power
from the crank shaft under the four
big cylinders to the driving shaft that
runs to the rear axle. The universal
joint. In Repault is directly under
the little iron seat upon which the
driver sits.
With tremendous force the big steel
mechanism, released from the crank
shaft plunged upward and struck
against the iron seat. It had almost
the impetus Of q cannon ball. The
blow dung MI. Vanderbilt upward and
forward. First his breast struck against
the steering wheel; then he shot head
frst,out over the cars sloping hood.
Byswhat seemed like a miracle he
managEd to grab the wheel again as
he shot'high over it, and for an instant
allhis weight was upon one hand. like
an. acrobat posing on a bar with his
fest ,aloft As his body turned and
his fsetstruck the sloping hood he still
chung with the one hand to the wheel.
He had turned almost a complete SOM
ersaultsand hadn't. been shaken of.
When the joint broke, no more
power f course, was sent to the rear
wheels, SO. now the car was coasting.
The plungings Of the loose shaft had
half locked the wheels, too, greatly re-
ducing the speed. But it was still
goinesfastrenough, to be death dealing.
Keptst4issPreseneesof Mind.
While Mr, Vanderbilt chung to the
wheel, thencar turned suddenly from
the center Of the road to one side and
began to- climb a steep: ,embankment.
II was as good as certain that IL it
ever got halfway up 1t would turn
over upon it's side and perhaps bury
the driver, beneath its great bulk.
But4he didn't et'it. With another re-
Variable contortion he managed to
grasp the emergency brake. He
jammsdsit fast and brought the big
gray raSersto a stop with its blunt nose
only aaf6w feet up the embankment.
One lamp was, smashed, but the ex-
ternal machine was not otherwise
wrecked.
Mr.. Vanderbilt found that he wasn't
at all injured, SO he walked to the
nearest telephone and called up a
garage in New York to send a couple
Of a1ert mechanicians out in his
Rotclaass car. He did not say what
had dappened. When the men arrived
nt thS place they found him calmly
tinksfing with the disabled Renault.
He 6lf them 3hsa matter Of fact way
what had cauted the breakdown and
beemed more Interested in the tech