Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-03
TRACK RACING
IS BEST TEST OF
CONSTRUCTION
DISCL0SES WEAKNESSES OF
DESIGN AND WORKMEN
MERclLEss STRAIN AT TOP
SPEED BETTER THAN ROAD
Race Results, of Course, Prove Moth
ing Unless Model Is Strictly
Stock Car, True Show
ing of Makes

No automobile manufacturer, auto
mobile engineer or automobile driver
of experience doubts for moment
the value of track racing if the cars
used in track races are strictly stock
machines. Track racing discloses the
weaknesses of construction, design, ma
terial and Workmanship as no other
test possibly can. Every manufact-
urer who has participated in both en-
durance tours and races will admit
that the race brings out every weak
ness that the tour can develop and a
whole lot more.
The tour has fixed schedule de-
signed to prevent racing at high
speed, consequently the driver can at
all times favor his car, as all he needs
is sufficient power and a low enough
gear to make all the hills and pull
through heavy roads When he strikes
a particularly hard bit of going the
schedule will as a rule permit of his
nursing the car over this bad going
Conservative, intelligent driving will
generally pull a car through the aver
age tour with a more or less degree
of success.
But in racing the car is given merci-
less strain at top speed. Not lonly
must it stand the terrific strain on
every part produced by the application
of all the power the machine has and
the consequent racRing of machinery
moving at lightning speed. but it
must meet the fierce impact, the pound
of the road surface.
An obstruction that would not be
noticed at ten miles an hour becomes a
terrific jar at a speed of eighty miles
an hour. If there is a little mistake
in design, a trifling weakness in ma
terial or if there has been the slightest
neglect in workmanship, it will show
very quickly when the car is driven at
a speed of eighty or ninety miles an
hour.
The legitimate purpose of racing,
therefore, is not the advertising OBJ
tained by winning, though that is
great incentive to the manufacturer,
but the development of correct design
and construction, which comes by elm
mating the weaknesses disclosed in
racing. OF all marvellous progress
made i'm automobile construction it is
safe to say that one-half at least is
due to the correction OF these weak
nesses which have been developed in
racing
AS to the question of the relative
merits of road races, track races and
speedway races, when it is a question
between road course and mile track
built for horse races, the advantage
is all with the road course for obvious
reasons. But we are now building
speedways, such as Brooklands, in
England, the indianapolis motor speed
way and the Atlantic automobile
speedway, thus far completed, and the
many new speedways that are pro-
jected in this country.
The advantage undoubtedly lies with
q TI,,of
speedways thus far greatly exceeds
that made on the road courses, with
the single exception of the natural
straightaWay track at Daytona Beach,
Florida, While there have been some
accidents on the speedways, the causes
of these accidents have been discov-
cred and corrected and without
doubt speedway races will be decidedly
safer in the future than they have
been in the past
The question of the best sort of sur
face to use is still an open one. Cement
has gone to PIECES at Brooklands. An
asphaltum mixture proved only fairly
good at Atlanta, and clay paving bricks
are being tested at the Indianapolis
motor speedway. From all indications
it would seem that the brick surface
is the best, but it is safe to predict
that, If it is not the best, the proper
surface will soon be found.
When all speedways are properly
graded from the actual track surface
to the infield and are properly banked
on the outer edges the danger of speed
way racing will be reduced to a mini
mum. 1t certainly is much less dan
gerous at present than road racing,
and undoubtedly is the best possible
test for the car. In road racing there
are turns which must be taken at
slower speed, and the car gets some
relief from the terrific strain in MAX
ing these turns. but on properly
constructed speedway there will be alb
solutely no letup in speed from the
start to finish of racing except where
tire changes are necessary.
Race results, of course, prove moth
ing about the stability or value of a
car unless it is a strictly stock model,
in all respects representative of man
ufacturer's product for specially
built racing car, designed for the pur-
pose of wlthstanding hard usage that
car must withstand under such condl-