The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-20
IS
HERO Of RACE
Man With the Monkey Wrench
Is Always Nearer to Death
Than Driver.
KNIGHT OF THE GREASE
NEVER GETS THE GLORY
Thrilling Escapes of the Assist
ants Are 0vershadowcd by
Fate of Chauffeur.

Little thought is given by the aver
age person TO the importance or the dan
ger Of the work done by mechanician
in an automobile race, yet il the truth
were told this unknown. underestimated
knight OF overaIls and monkey wrcnches
frequently is the factor that decides
the raoe for the driver with whom he
rides" says Mortimer C. Reeves con-
test manager Of the United States Motor
company "As the racing car tnunders
on it's way. either to victory or defeat
and the mechanic clngs for dear life to
a strap or griphandlc, he is hardly no.
ticed by the applauding multitudes 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 coal stoker on a steamship In
the race ne Is mute worker. He talks
to tho driver only BY prearranged sig
| nails. Between efforts to stay on the
car he gets In a snatch of work that is
as necessary In the race as the car itself
| In taking sharp turns OF two wheels he
Is closer TO the grim reaper than the
driver, and whom the bump comes IL is
| tho mechanician who generally gets the
| worst Of it.
Becomes Calloused
! But the hardened racing mechanic be-
comes calloused To danger. knows no
| fear. and even after miraculous escape
| he still rides In the same car with the
same driver, but in another race. No one
knows how many hours or with what
precision the mechanician has tinkered
with the car TO mako every function do
Its work the best, He does the dirty
work, the heavy work, the dangerous
work. and aftorward, when the race is,
| over, he gets more of it,
Before the race he Derfects a code Of
| signals for his supply kit or signal sta
| tlon. He wallops the starting crank
with the arm of a samson Tho moment
the gun is fired he turns to watch the
drivers behind him. One sluggish motor
In a big field of starters might mean dis
aster to dozen If the drivers arc not
apprised of what Is going on in tho rear
of them. He grips the pressure pump
and works like "A Trojan Internationally
he stops TO see II another racer is be-
hind him. Has II the speed To pass?
This Is question the mcchanician should
know TO advise his own drive- he ges-
| ticulates like a pantomirnc comedian.
Mechanic Near Death.
J I'm an instant the cars are abreast A
| few seconds and they race for q turn.
| Inches instead of feet prevent them from
! side swiping each other at their awful
speed. The mechanic Is in tho logical
spot for Il killing. necessarily he works
the pump. blowout occurs before II
stops. Most likely ho has a new tire tIu-
strapped from tho rear deck before the
driver has left his seat. Another mo-
mcnt and he Is doing his REGULAR work.
looking. pumping and holding on.
! II engine trouble develops IL Is his arm
that reaches into the sizzling. oil-bespat-
tered motor to trace the trouble. II Is his
arm that swings" the motor. or spins IT.
when the average man could not give Il
quarter turn. Hc is jack -of all work ex-
\ cept driving. When the worst of III luck
| overtakcs him. the car skids. the crash
I comes this is rhe fellow who is thrown
the farthcSt and lands the hardest He
takes all the risks OF the driver and moro
| besides.
One Distance Recorded.
An unrecorded instance OF bravery on
the part Of Maxwell mechanicIans oc-
CURED in a recent Long Island race. when
/ the mechsnican rode fifteen miles on the
) forward ends Of the frame. clinging To
/ the radiator cap with one hand while with
! the other he held in place a bolt that
! had oosened and worked partly out Of
place. eDdangerinE the car we'll AS tho
crew. Such is the hazardous work done
by men llko Walter f. Stone. William
waIlIe and Ernest Briggs on the Max
we'll team. as we'll as the mcchanicians
on every other racing car.
| How those boys can gaze at the grim
visage OF lurking death and still defy n
| Ia one of those mysteries OF nature whore
fascination grips harder than human In
| stinct where the sudden realization of
uuaccustomed power makes the sense of
| thrill usurp the sepSe OF reason.
| Their years cease to be measured by
days Their longevity is I'm the number
1 of races. The Intervening lapse of mental
| excitement and strain Is but a temporary
| IulI broken only by the first practice spin
! for tho succeeding race. From the start
/ ing gun TO the finishing flag IL whole
career. and they want not one, but many