The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-05-24
FORTY-S|X CARS
IN GREAT RACE
PREPARATIONS FOR
EVENT AT INDIANAPOLIS
ON MEMORIAL DAY.
$4,000 OFFERED
Every Well.knoWn Pilot IN United
States in 500-MiIc Contest on
Greatest Speedway in Worio.

Indianapolis, lnG May -z.-fll5hls
tuned" and mechanically as perfect
al the skill OF the modern motor car
maker can produce, forty-six OF the
faatest racing automobiles ever az
hembled are at the Indianapolis Motor
| Speedway awaiting the elimination
trials next Saturday which VIII de
termine whether they are eligible TO
| start in the 500-mile international
sweepstake race on Memorial LAY,
J May 80. Every car must SHOW speed
| Of eeyenty-fiye miles an hour to quar-
| jfy for one Of the greatest races in the
i history OF the motor contest sport
| When the entries to this event We're
| closed Nav /, there were forty-six cars
on the list.
The long race has assumed even
greater proportions than the promot-
ers had anticipated when the purse
of s25,O00 in gold was offered for the
winners Of the first places. A capital
prize of $4,000 headed list OF nine
others as follows: Second, $4,000;
third. $4,000; fourth, $4,000; fifth,
lS1,50O; sixth, $1,000: seventh, $500;
elgth, $500; ninth, $500; tenth, $500,
In addition to this small fortune there
have been added side prizes by var
ious accessory makers, which bring
the total to be won up to about S4o,-
coo. Supplementing the cash prizes
are ten bronze plpaques which will be
given to the entrants of the ten win
ming cars. 1t long has been the rule
in motor car racing that the drivers
shall receive the cash prizes and the
makers the trophies, ,...,.,........., ..,.
Conditions Of the Race.
The conditions Of the race, which Is
class event. are that each car shall
weigh at least 1900 pounds and have
no more than coo cubic inches piston
displacement. This makes cars up to
about l2o horsepower eligible. The
foIty-six cars have a total of 20,loO
. cubic inches of piston displacement
giving an average OF 1873 cubic inches
per car. according 20 it's motor con
structions. The majority of the cars
Il in the race in their tryout havt aver
| aged about 95 to 100 miles per hour
while many of them are capable OF
Idoing two miles per minute. The Ell
try fee ppaid by the entrants was $500
> pepr car.
Estimates on the average speed
which will be attained in the long race
have varied widely, but experts eX
press a belief that the winner viii
travel the $4,000 miles at rate o
about rs miles per hour.
The race will start at ten o'clock II
the morning and probably the WHINE
- will cross the tape ON his last la
!. about o'clock in the afternoon.
D Fred j. Wagner, of New York, viii
Il act as starter, while George Robert
81 son. the former racing driver, will b
II an assistant A. r. Pardington, Q
New York, will referee, while r.
II Hooper, president of the America
y Automobile association, is the homo
airy official in that capacity. Judge
= and other officials have been chose
81 from among the most prominent maj
q lufacturers and automobile men in th
ID middle west.
d -.
Methor of Starting.
n The method, which would be en-
II ployed to start this event, has bee
n difficult for the promoters to decid
B adopted the plan OF firing dayligl
H bombs which explode $50 feet in IL
air and give forth dense cloud
n smoke. One of these will be fire
n every minute for fiveS minutes befo,
n ten o'clock and at the stroke of ten
n special starting bomb will give Il
n signal that will send the entire fie
n into one of the greatest races ev
known. After the start the conte
tants are signalled along the cour
by means of colored flags, each
which bears some special meanil
which the drivers understand. r
cars will be started in nine lines
II five cars each. placed at intervals
100 feet back of the tire.
$50 Scores Out Timers.
MH Scoring and timing Of forty.six ia
--- cars on q course but two and a h;
miles in length means the deyising
is an entirely new system. In order
lily. score and tie the race yct,..ute
ne more than 100 men will be us
~ throughout the seven hours, with
~ Others as relief en- to the regular SC
for ers. The eye Is the only part of m
re. depended upon aid in Til Is Ia
my while mechanical and electrical