Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-17
AUTO TRACK IS
GIVEN TRYOUT
MANY MACHINES TEST MOTOR
DROME'S STRENGTH
WORK BEING RUSHED ON NEW
RACE COURSE
Motorists Now Visiting Florida tc
Participate in Speed Contests
Will Be Drawn to Los
Angeles

"All roads may lead to Rome,' but
certain 1t is that every auto enthusiast
who left Los Angeles going backward
yesterday morning was bound for the
site of the new motordrome at Del Rey,
and at noon there were more Romans"
of the auto racing game gathered to do
honor to Manager Muscovics, Jack
Prince and other promoters of this
additional attraction for Los Angeles
than ever graced a similar preliminary
opening event in the history of auto
mobiling; for it was on the invitation
of the motordrome management that
this crowd of more than a hundred as
sembled to inspect and test the work
already done on the great enterprise.
1t is just eight days since the first
active work of construction was begun,
and the working force of nearly 200
men has the frame work up on four
tifths of the mile circular track the
staging all placed for the grand stand
and bleachers, and goodly portion OF
three-eighths of a mile of the timbered
part of the track in readiness for use
which was later demonstrated by act
ual tests participated in by sixteen ma
chimes. There can be no doubt as to
the stability of the structure, for with
in a space of $50 feet long by 22 feet
wide these cars were masSed for the
benefit of the newspaper photogra piers.
The combined weight of the machines
and occupants exceeded twenty-five
tons. which is a harder strain than any
portion of the track will have to bear
in speed contests. The entire track
when finished will have a width of for
ty feet framework and forty feet dirt
track, and will be absolutely the fastest
and safest track in America. The pre-
diction is freely made by every man
there yesterday that every race track
record will be broken on the motor
drome track.
The site for this great track and
aviation field is ideal Situated just
far enough from the ocean to get full
benefit of the ocean breezes, and the
grand stand is so placed that patrons
can enjoy the marine view in the in
terim between heats. The railroad ia
cilities furnished by the Los Angeles
Pacific railway will be ample, and a
service maintained when races are on
that will care for the largest crowds;
for 1t is to be remembered that the ca
pacity of the grand stand is $1,000 and
the motordrome field will accommodate
10000 more.
To still further impress one that the
projected motordrome is magnificent
structure, it will require 3000,0 900 feet of
lumber and one and a half carloads of
nails in the construction, and as the
major portion OF tne InaJerldl is on IIl0
grounds, the work will be rushed to
completion.
Many Cars on Hand
Yesterdays demonstration at the mo-
tordrome track was participated in by
the following cars: Isotta, Apperson
two) Cole (two), Marmon, Moline,
Buick, Franklin, Kline, EMF, Knox,
Autocar, VieIe, Sterling and Thomas
Flyer; some as stripped chasses, 9TH
ers in their full equipment, driven by
track veterans and loaded to full ca
pacity with auto enthusiasts of both
local and national reputation. In ad-
dition to those who motored down, the
Los Angeles-Paciflc railway rendered
the courtesy of a private car for press
representatives and other invited
guests. The junket was in charge of
Mr. Fairall, secretary to the general
manager of the L. A.-P. railway, and
those occupying the car were Manager
Muscovics of the motordrome, Winfield
Hogaboom of the Associated Press,
Frank Garbutt, Walter Hemphill, Geo.
B. Harrison, the famous drivers, Ryall
and Soule, and several newspaper men.
AS glad-hander and entertainer
Manager Muscovics Is par excellence,