Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-11-13
MECHANICIAN IS REAL HERO
Little Thought Given to Man Who
Makes Races Possible.
HE RISKS MORE THAN DRIVERS
HIeohanicisn a. Several Inches Nearer
the Grim REAPER when Accident
Ocures Than Driver, who
Gets All the credit.

Little thought Is given by the average
person 70 the importance OF the danger of
the work done by a mechanician In an auto
mobile race, yet IL the truth were told this
unknown, undersetimated knight Of overails
and monkey wrenches frequently is the
factor that decides the race for the driver
with whom he rides" says Mortimer c.
Reeves, contest manager Of the United
states Motor company. "As the racing car
thunders on its way. either to victory or
defeat, and the mechanic clings for dear
life TO a strap or griphandle, he is hardly
noticed by the applauding mulutudes and
seldom mentioned as part and parcel OF
the winning
Physically he Is as prominent as the
driver, but literally he Is more obscure
than a coal stoker. on a steamship. In the
race he is a mute worker. He talks to the
driver onlx BY prearranged signals. Be
tween efforts to stay on the car, ne gets In
Ia snatch OF work that is as necessary I'm the
race as the car Itself. In taking sharp
turns on two wheels he is closer to the
grim reaper than the driver and when the
bump comes. It is the mechanician who
generally gets the worst Of it.
becomes CaIloused.
But the hardened racing mechanic be-
comes cailoused to danger, knows no fear,
and even after a miraculous escape he
stih rides In the same car with the same
driver, put in another race No one knows
how many hours or with what precision
the mechanician has tnkered with the car
to make every function do its work the
best. He does the dirty work, the heavy
work. the dangerous work, and afterward,
when the race is over, he gets more OF Il.
Before the race he perfects a code OF
signals for his supply kit or signal station.
He wallops the starting crank with the
arm Of q Sampson. The moment the gun
Is fired he turns to watch the drivers be-
hind him. One sluggish motor in a big
field Of starters might mean disaster to a
dozen IL the drivers are not appraised Of
what Is going on in the rear Of them.
He grips the pressure pump and works
like Trojan. Internationally he stops
to see If another racer is behind him Has
it the speed to pass7 This Is a question
the mechanioisn should know To advise
his own driver he gestioulstes ike pam
tomime comedian.
Mechanic Near Death.
In an instant the cars are abreast, A
few seconds and they race for a turn.
Inches instead OF feet prevent them from
nide-awipinE eaoiA other at their awful
speed The mechanic is in the logical
spot for a killing. necessarily he works
the pump. blowout occurs and the
mechanioian is out Of the car before it
stops. Most likely he has a new tire un-
strapped from the rear deck before the
driver has left his seat. Another moment
and he is doing his regular work, looking,
pumping and holding on
If engine trouble develops IL is his arm
that reaches into the sizzling, oii-bespat-
tered motor 60 trace the trouble It is his
arm that swings the motor, or spins It.
when the average man could not give Il a
duarter-turn. He is jaclS-of-all- work, ex-
cept driving. When the worst OF III luck
overtakes him, the car skids, the crash
comes, this Is the fellow who is thrown
the farthest and lands the hardest. He
takes all the risks OF the driver and more
besides.
ono Distance Recorded.
An unrecOrded instance Of bravery on the
part Of Maxwell mechanicians occurred In
a recent Long Island race When the mech
ancian rode fifteen miles on the forward
ends OF the frame. cinging to the radiator
cap with one hand while with the other
he held IN place a bolt that had loosened
and worked partly out OF place, endanger-
ing the car as we'll as the crew. Such is
the hazardous work done by men like
Walter E. Stone, William Waffle and Ern-
est Briggs on the Maxwell team as well
as the mechanicians on every other racing
car.
How those boys can gaze at the grim
visage Of lurking death and still defy it is
one Of those mysteries of nature where
fascination grips harder than human in
stinet, where the sudden realization Of un-
accustomed power makes the sense OF thrill
usurp the sense Of reason.
Their years cease to be measured by
days. Their longevity Is in the number OF
races. The Intervening lapse Of mental ex-
citement and strain is but a temporary lun
broken only By the first practice spin for
the succeeding race. From the starting
gun TO the finishing flag is a whole career,