The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-04-27
FAMOUS DRIVERS MAY COME
First Automobile Meet Will be Held
on Memorial Day and Other Meets
Later in the Summer Season VIII
Bring Racing Men to the City.

|
game for this section of the country
during the coming summer and to this
end M. A. Kent and G. B. Kent on We'd
nesday took a year S lease on the Balm
track and this morning big force of
workmen went to work grading and
banking the track with view OF max
ing it one of the best auto racing
tracks in the country. The track is
one Of the few mile tracks in the
neighborhood of Chicago available for
motor races. 1t is built in manner
to make it especially available for this
sport and the promoters of the deal
feel certain that before the end Of the
present season Kenosha will have to
offer the greatest drivers of the coun-
try. The plans for the summer have
not all been worked out but it is plan
ned to give large number of automo-
bile races during the summer and ear
ly fall season. A grand stand will be
erected at the track at once and it is
planned to have the first series of au-
tomobile races on Memorial Day. They
will be pulled off in the afternoon and
at time not to interfere in any way
with the annual observance Of the day
by the Grand Army.
One of the promoters of the scheme
said this morning: "We admit that this
is something of an experiment and
while we have very big plans in regard
to making Kenosha center for great
automobile meets we can not say just
how these plans will be worked out
Some five thousand dollars is to be
spent in the banking of the track and
building of grand stands and provisions
to take care of the people. We have
been given assurances from the various
clubs in Chicago that the plan will be
supported. At any rate >Kenosha will
have four big meets during the coming
summer months at which several of the
most famous drivers of the country
will drive cars. What will follow will
depend entirely on the success of these
meets. Keuosharis better situated than
Indianapolis as a place for big motor
meetings.. It is less than four hours
tun from Chicago by automobile and
with a perfect track we feel certain
| that meets in Kenosha will draw great
crowds. AS yet we have not made APP
plication for membership in the Grand
Circuit of automobile races but Chi
cago people are very anxious to get a
track for the use of Chicago auto rae
ers. Thousands of people went from
Chicago to Flgin last year just ITO see
few cars dash past them going at
high rate of speed. On the Balm track
it will be possible for the people to
see every part of the race and the
ground surrounding the track is so
splendidly drained that grand stands
could be erected all about the track
and every one of them would furnish
an excellent chance to view the rae.
We are going to have small meet on
Memorial Day and open with big
meet on the Fourth of July. This will
be the real try out Of the track. We
have no doubt that the people of Ken
osha will give the races q liberal pat
ronage but we realize that we must
start Chicago people to Kenosha if we
want to secure the highest measure of
success
The track leased by the Kent bro
theirs is well located for transportation
purposes and excursion trains could be
run to within a few feet of the en-
trance to the track by the Northwest
ern and the tracks of the Chicago and
Milwaukee Electric are within hun
dred yards of the entrance to the park.
AS this is the main line of the Electric
company it could pour thousands of
people into Kenosha from the North
shore suburban towns and from Chi
cage.
The track is not to be kept idle as
the Kent brothers have arranged to
have races of some sort every two
weeks. Most. of these will be for au-
tomobiles but there will be series of
motor cycle races which are expected
to draw the best riders Of the country.
The leasing of the track will prob
ably interfere in way with the plans
| of the Kenosha Gentlemen s Driving
club for the year but the new manag
ers of the track have declared that
they will be willing to permit the mem
bers Of the club to take the track for
any local meets they may care to ar
range for.
The enthusiasm shown by the pro-
moters seems to indicate that the lease
of the track will mean big things for
the development of this new line of
sport in Kenosha More definite an
nouneements of the plan of the promot
ers of the meetings will be announced
s,within the next two or three days