The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-13

boy who four years ago ran away from home to become driver of racing au- tomobiles, today saved the reputation of American drivers from obliteration at the hands of foreigners in the grand prize race, the blue ribbon event of automo- bile contests. Speeding faster and faster than man ever went before in an auto mobile road race, this young man, Da- yid Bruce-B Brown, won the grand prize by barely more than a second at the end of 415,2 miles-heartbreaking miles. He flashed across the electric timing wire 1 42 seconds ahead of Victor Hemery, the Frenchman. His time was 5 hours, 53 minutes, 877 seconds setting a new American road record of 7O.55 miles an hour.
 Both he and Hemery drove Benz cars, so that the foreign machines triumphed over the American made racers. The consolation in having an American at the wheel of the winner was increased by the feat of Wild Bob" Burman driving the maddest race of his career in an American car, the Marquette Buick, which finished third. getting not only third money, but an additional 5000 for the the first American driver to finish in an American car.
 Americans Laid Plans
 Before the race it was said the Amer ican team planned to set a pace in the early stages which would burn the tires off the big foreign machines, thereby securing an advantage over them. Ap- parently the Americans tried this trick. md if pea rly succaedad for most of the foreigners were either stalled or wrecked on the track before the finish, but the foreigners were too numerous. Two of their cars, the winning Benz machines, still remained on the track at the end of the race. All of the other finishers were American cars.
 Behind Burman were the derelict cars of some of the worlds most famous drivers, who had failed to make their speed machines last through the terrific strain of 24 laps of curving roadways. These foreigners went to defeat fighting gamely and in some instances recklessly.
 Wagner, in his big red Fiat, was one of the grlttiest. his daring nearly cost Ing his life, and that of his mechanician. Louis Ferro. On the back stretch, while coming down a small hill at top speed, Wagner lost control of his car for the fraction of second one of his front wheels striking stone culvert, crushing the wheel and throwing the car on its side for a slide of 90 feet into the trees bordering the speedway. Ferro was lit terally shot into the top branches of 20-foot willow, which caught him and broke his fall He ran to the car be- side which Wagner was lying. with ma chine oil pouring about him from broken tank. The great driver got up with the aid of his mechanician and walked to the German club nearby La ter he was taken to a hospital. where 1t was reported he was not seriously hurt.
 Willie Haupt, one of the Benz drivers, skidded off the road at the end of long straiehtaway, side-swiped a giant live oak and then plunged with his car and his mechanician into clump of bushes so thick and tall that they ap- parently swallowed him up, hiding him from view of the breathless spectators. He and H. W. Feyhle, his machinician, expedition. though somewhat bruised and scratched.
 Foreigners' Gruelling Race
 Fifteen cars started in the race. Inside of 20 miles the three Flats, driven by Wagner. De Palma and Navarro, and the three Benz cars, steered by Hemery, Bruce-Brown and Haupt, had left the Americans well behind. Hemery took the lead at about 30 miles and held 1t until the one hundred and fortieth mile, when a change of tires at the pits allowed four of the other foreign cars to rush past him. Meanwhile Navarro, holder of the worlds road record of about 70 miles an hour, was doing the fastest laps of the day in an effort to catch Hemery Nazarro's best time for sin gle lap was 1S:32 which was at the rate of 761 miles an hour. For over 100 miles he clung to this clip until tire trouble gave him a temporary setback. Wagner then took the lead for about 40 miles, but lost 1t in filling his oil and gasoline tanks at the pits.
 When the 200 miles mark was well In the rear and the race more than half over, these big cars were still bunch ed and doing some of the most thrilling driving in the annals of automobile rac- ing A scant three minutes at times sepa- rated the first four or five. Seconds only marked the difference in some of their laps The drivers caught the infection and opened their speed levers wider and the flying wheels at last refused to stay on the track at the turns.
 De Palma Had Victory
 Willie Haupt was the first to go crash ing from the course. Sixty miles further and Wagner, too, sent his car rolling into the ditch. Then Navarro, reputed to be fhe worlds most careful driver. bent his rear axle irreparably and was out of 1t. For the next 10 miles there was a battle royal between De Palma's Fiat, which had taken the lead, and Bruce Brown and Hemery in the Benz racers, Bruce Brown running second with De Palma few wards behind him, but two and a half minutes ahead on actual running time. tried to shake off the Brooklyn Ital- ian. De Palma retaliated with reckless efforts to pass Bruce-Brown, once nearly oyerturning his car at the grandstand corner, as he skidded around this right angIed turn not 20 yards behind the Benz. When Bruce Brown rounded the turn and shot into his last lap De Palma was mo- where to be seen. Thousands of watch CTS in the densely packed grandstands slowly licked off the two and half min utes of De Palma's vantage, while his helpers stood on tip toe or climbed scant- lings in their pit, peering vainly to catch sight of hiEl. He had stopped on the back stretch, out of the race with a broken cylinder. when but for this acci- dent there appeared to be no possible way of his losing the grand prize.
 When Hemery roared across the finish line few minutes later it was question whether Br,lce-Brown could get in quick enough to beat him on running time.
 Bruce Brown had started three minutes later than Hemery.
 Robert Morrell who was the referee at Ormond beach in 1906. when the runaway, Bruce Brown, had tried to enter the races there and who upon receipt of telegram from Bruce Browns mother that her boy was a minor, had prevented him from do- ing more than exhibition speeding, was one of the officials today. Through the announcars Mir Morrell kept the grand