Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-15
STOCK CARS TO
BE IDENTIFIED
PRESENT RACING SITUATION
NOT SATISFACTORY
Fact That Machines Are Rushed from
Track to Track Enough to
Make Public Sus-
picious

That additional restrictions are nee
essary in order to insure that cars
taking part in contests, particularly
in races, are bona fide stock cars, is
the opinion of Windsor r. White, pres
ident Of the White company. Mr.
White proposes a rule whereby any
machine entering in a contest may be
claimed by any other entrant on the
payment Of the list price of that car
Il think no one will dispute the
statement that there has been much
ground for dissatisfaction with and
distrust of the stock car racing situa-
tion,' said Mr.. White, in disclosing
the proposed reform. "The eXamina-
tion of contesting cars at race meets
is necessarily OF the most superficial
character and generally discloscS
nothing more than that the cylinders
are of the proper dimensions and that
the general arrangement Of parts is
the same as in the stock model. Such
an examination cannot reveal, for eX-
ample, whether or not the racing car
has a chrome nickel steel crankshaft
(whcn real stock cars Of the same
make use only common machine steeD
or whether or not there has been a
similar substitution of materials
throughout.
"The public has had ample reason
to be suspicious. For example. they
have not understood why IL was nee
essary for a stock car which COM
peted one week in New York to be
rushed by express to compete in Min
neapOlis or New Orleans the next.
The ordinary citizen would imagine
that any car in Minneapolis or New
Orleans would fully size up to the true
capabilities of the stock car and could
be ~used.
with this unsatisfactory situation
confronting automobile racing, why
should we not avail ourselves of the
experience of a much older line Of
sport-namely, horse racing-Whereln
various protective measures have been
devised for safeguarding the interests
of the public as we'll as of contestants?
1 refer particularly to the regulations
covering what are known as selling
races. / believe that these regulations
could be applied with advantage to all
stock cars racing in this country, with
the result that any car entering stock
car race could be claimed by any other
contestant in the race on payment Of
the list price of the car.
by the enactment Of such an
amendment to the automobile racing
rules, motor racing in this vicinity
would receive a tremendous boom.
There are many manufacturers and
agents who would be very willing to
engage in various kinds of speed con-
tests if they were assured that they
would be confined to stock models.
but at present they feel that the
cars which are being sent first to one
city and then to another to engage in
race meets are not bona tide stock
cars. Under the proposed rule, any
maker who engaged in a race and who
suspected that one of the cars contest
ing against him was not a stock model
could simply bid it in at the list price
and could quickly assure himself
whether or not such was the case.
With this regulation enforced the prac-
tice of building especially constructed
ears for racing would be discouraged,
there would be many more cars enter
inc races. and the public and the indus
try at large would benefit largely from
the new conditions"