New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-12-04
HARRY GRANTS STORY
Winner of Vanderbilt Cup Writes
of His Racing Experiences.
STEADY GRIND THE SECRET
Well Known Auto Driver Also
Acknowledges Charm OF the
Rabbits Foot.


racing experiences for the December num-
her Of The Columbian Magazine The
narrative runs as follows:
Tel all about myself and the Vanderbilt
trtn race Is what I have been asked 10 do.
and that Is setting me a harder task than
vtnnin. 4. This sort OF thing is away out
81 my line hut viii do my best TO answer
the questions that have been put and tell
Al know II i IS not readable. IL is Up
70 the editor.
II has been said that ] have created a
nav style Of driving il road raCes-the cor
rinuous grind instead Of q series Of spuTts-
do not think the style * new only the
practice OF il The idea must be an old
ore. but ! have stuck 10 II and carried II
cut more completely, perhaps. Others are
beginning TO follow this plan Of driving,
and read racing would be safer If all should
-dcr7r il This viii never be done. proba-
biz. because il requires only one cratic or
sensational driver 10 lure most Of the
a. hers from steady going II is the general
experience that a race Is not won BY the
car that makes the fastest lap This is well
known 10 the drivers. but the men with
the hiEh-powered cars dare not let one Of
equal speed get III front One starts at
furious clip TO get in the lead the others
pursue. and soon nearly all are going at &
q which they are not apt to last till the
END Of the race The hardest part Of driv-
ing a steady race is keeping cool when the
Others are getting ahead OF you and holding
on 10 your confidence that all you have 70
DO Is 10 keep plugging and let them come
hack 10 YOU the saying is.
Yes. planned how I would drive. and
decided what speed would Re necessary be
fore the race. 7 always do Last year /
h. the nail scUareIv on he head. Two
nights before the 1893 race I said that an
average Of between g. and 80 miles an hour
would xin. I averaged 62.S miles an hou--
ard won with more than five minutes 70
snare This wear I decided beforehand
ths- AT average Of about e6 miles an hour
would ~ necessary. possibly little more.
averaged s5I6 AND l. should have been
81 Nv speed average would have been
higher rad il not been that mistake was
made in my signals. so that in the twelfth
lap and for several laps after, when I was
II sixth position. ! was led 70 believe that
was n second place and very close 70
The leader I really do not care 10 he in
front SO early in the race ] am satisfied
- LEI others make the pace and come TO
the front toward the end If ] had known
that ] was really sixth at that time. I
zvn1,fd have improved ny average just a
!
biz margin but ! did intend 10 have q
bigger one than 7 did. Il was because OF
those wrong signals and the tire that gave
cut in the iap next TO the last that l won
by so little That tire change. SO much
talked about was made by my mechanic,
Frank Lee. my pit assistant, George Bah
cock and the Nichelin Tire Company's ex-
nerJ. George C7eland. in . seconds. but
lost much more than that. Of course, stop
ping and getting under way again That
tire went fat in the srraightaway. coming
70 the grandstand. and Lee discovered IL
IN the nick Of time, bur not quite soon
enough for me 10 make a good stop /
vas travelling al nearly e. miles an hour
then. and I skidded. with my brakes set,
. vEv past my pit. and had 70 throw in my
Il reverse and back rp before work could be-
! gin : EEz9s79Il
Until that tire went wrong my pre-
arranged schedule. or dope. was about per-
feet I had figured OF driving the laps in
from lis TO / - each. not increasing the
speed unless 7 was falling behind An In
ves1iga1ion Of the score shows that, except
those lars when 1 stopped 70 change tires
Il only changed three during the entire
race for Nichelins served ne H-el). or 10
take on Easolene. 7 kept close TO that
scnedule Ny fastest lap. with q flying
IIao
The question has been asked me Il
ever feel that I am risking nv life when
starting in q race and 4 when 7 say good
hv 70 ny wife Il occurs 70 me that I may
not see her again. Why, Il felt that way
: would not start. The very first time I
have any such feeling I VIII stop then and
there anC never again start in any race
~ wife attends all the races and watches
ne drive and there IS not mite Of worry
CT her part or mine. 7 not only do not feel
as f am taking q chance, but the
thought does not occur intellectually. The
fact is. 90 not take any risk
That six cyIinedr Alec. you see. is not
E freak racing machine. but 2 regular
stock touring chassis j Is long and low
and heavy enough 70 hold the road L
does nor founce about in the air or over
ne adjacent real estate Il settles right
down 70 lis work and sticks TO II like a
good oio dog in harness. L is not because
s. car Is heary that the tires give out, Il
c-Iv + Is properly balanced and holds the
-uad- J know my car mother does
ne child. ! know 20 certainty that it
vii not turn over, nor even hop off the
road vhcn a ti-e blows out During my
practice work ] had or old tires, and one
morning both tres on the right hand side
blew out a. the same instant. just as I en-
tered the MassapeqUa turn at high speed.
Tne car hardly veered- I am perfectly
wiling = need be. 10 drive that car in a
1ace until every tire Is gone from the rim
would no; do Il with any other car. but
nth this one ! an not guessing, for I
hare proven the absolute safety Of II.
cnce ha5 TWO tires come entirely off the
rims when going al fun speed around the
-u-n % one mile track. Il ever that car
va going 70 capsize. il would have done
- then There Is nc capsizing possibility
20 r. and mat is why ] sag GO not take
clfance- That is why ] won. perhaps, or
--7ayhe il was the rabbits foot
Franz Lee has that rabbits foot yet.
% not know whether il was a graveyard
rabbit or rot. but ] should think II was.
TIE celored gentleman who bestowed il IL
ore Of the real Southern sort. from Ken
-uckv. and he follows the running horses
lie is 6 feet , inches in height and nc has
all ms shoes bUlt in the summertime so
tfiat the shoe men work out Of doors.
lie IS generally known as *Footsey,- and
q Is worth = bit Of travel 10 see mis- feet.
I5e came around just before the race last
year AND said ac had picked me and the
AFRO on fern. chiefly because Of the way I
-onK the corners. This year ne came