New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-01
AT POST FOR MAD DASH.
Daring Drivers and Powerful
Cars Seek Vanderbilt Cup.
COURSE IN PERFECT TRIM
Big Race of 27S Miles Brings
Together Famous Winners
of Auto Laurels.


sixth annual quest for the Vanderbilt Cup
over q 1854 mile course which comprises
sections of the Long Island Motor Park
way and sections Of the Nassau County
roads They will go round this course
TWENTY-FIVE times or total of Uses miles
These cars will be driven by men who 1
have each won famous races and created
new records on American tracks and /
roads No such gathering of great drivers |
has ever col seted in this country-pos-
siblv in the world. The race will he start |
&c al the appointed hour, unless fog post /
tones it. The falling of rain Will not IN |
terfere with the start II fog OBTAINS /
Fred J. Wagner, the starter. viii wait ull 4
the sun has dissipated the fog The cars /
will be sent away at intervals of hfteen
seconds.
One hour after the start of the race for !
-be Vanderbilt Cup the nine cars entered ,
for the Wheatly Hills sweepstake trophy
viii I've started at minute intervals. The
distance for this race is 1880 miles, OF
fifteen times round the circuit
Half an hour later the six entrants for
,he Nassarequa sweepstake trophy Will
be started AT minute intervals They VIII
cover los ~ miles. or ten laps.
The start is planned so as 20 bring the
time They viii he run simultaneously in
their several classes.
The Vanderbilt race is for cars Of less
than sol cubic inches piston displacement
The Wheatly Hills sweepstake is Tor
cars Of 2Ol cubic inches displacement ana
minimum car weight Of Leo pounds The
cars in the Massapequa race may not eK-
iced 81 inches cubic displa cement ana
must weigh al least 1ioo pounds
The prize in the big race is the ". x VAN
derbilt jr,. cup. and an additional award OF
50 600 in gold 10 the winner; also, special
award of the donors trophy fcr permanent
ownership Manufacturers also have con-
ditionallv offered s1.i0O in cash prizes. The
wheatlev Hills and Massapequa sweep
stakes each carries a trophy to the winner
and an additional cash prize of $1,000 20
the victor in each race
The cars will assemble in front of the
grandstand I'm two lines. with the even
numbers or, the right and the odd numbers
on the left.
The signals 10 he displayed are as fol-
lows. yellow flag, race ended; white nag'
driver must come TO a dead stop at once,
owing TO immediate danger; white flag
black cross. stop next lap at stand to con-
fer with the referee or he disqualified FUSED
only in case Of protest or compiaint) green
flag. indicates last lap: checkerboard flag
q contestant finished
Fred J. Wagner. the official starter. has
ernphatically warned the mechanicians 10
look back for contestants wishing To pass
This rule is TO be rtgidy enforced the
leading car must keep well TO the right and
the overtaking car pass TO the left DIV
ers must allow another contestant 10 pass
At all times except on curves, and then I'M
rnediatefy the turn Is negotiated
c-a seven
teen languages including Chinese He will
start Franz Helm the Benz driver. in Ger
man. as this driver cannot understand one
word of English. 'NhiStling Wind DE
FIynlel the Aztec Indian. who will pilot the
Stoddard- Dayton, Will be started with
grunt.
Alden NcMurtry the technical represen-
tative Of the American Automobile Assocla-
ton. states that all gasolene in tanks must
be removed from the tanks and rehlled
from the official supply in the pits
There has been considerable comment as
70 the advisabiity OF running such a large
field Many have suggested splitting the
three races and running them separately
But A r. Pardington. the manager of the
three races. points out that by the time the
smaller cars for the Wheatley Hills race
begin 10 leave the tape the Vanderbilt cars
viii have been running an hour. and some
of them will have been eliminated by that
time Another half hour Will weed others
out. so tina, when the three races finish,
about 10 80 to Il O'Clock, the field will not
he so large as TO be unwieldy.
Mr.. Pardington makes strong plea 10
oil those near the rrandstand either IN the
stand itself or I'm cars In parking spaces
adjacent to stay I'm their places and allow
every CIR entered 10 finish. In other years
Il has been impossible 10 finish the race,
and the times Of only the first three or four
cars have been taken
The timing this year will be done by the
Warner automatic electric timing device,
which has now been officially accepted by
The American Automobile Association as
the only device by which official records
may be clicked.
The course itself has been made as per-
feet As men and money can make it The
heavy preliminary work of the ten days
preceding the contest had badly cut up the
surface of the country roads. This was
.,a-,icularlv true OF the turns. Friday
morning at S O'Clock, after the last prac-
vice. q largo gang OF men was turned on
and The entire course was completely done
over.
II is difficult 10 prophesy whether or not
the records Of the course will he lowered
The best time ever made over the Wander
filt course in the cup race was that OF TWO
wears ago when George Robertson, in the
Iocor1obile covered an average for the en-
tire race of g. 3 miles an hour. The best time
over this course, which is slightly different
from the old course was that OF last year,
a,v Harry Grant, in the winning Alec He did
eeS miles an hour average for the race
The record for the present course for one
lap is 8 minutes 56l2 seconds. made last
wear by Louis Chevrolet, in a Buick car.
This is at the rate OF $3.50 miles an hour
Each Vanderbilt race has been harder TO
manage end to handle IN the running of il
than the preceding one. This one has taxed
the capacity OF the large staff TO the limit.
They have been working on II for months,
and the result OF their thoughtful plans
will be crowded into the eight hours at the
course this morning. Never before in the
history of these races has there been such
demands for parking space or boxes and
seats IL the grandstand. They haze come
from all over the country. Several have
come from San Francisco and New Orleans.
II is estimated that close to five hundred
thousand people viii see the race from the
fields along the course, masses OF cars
100000 a. the ,r,rps and CROSSROADS, which