New-York tribune., 1911-02-12
rorejcners Can Teach Us Little
About Auto Racing.
PRESTIGE IS NOW SECURE
e,,;se Says That This Country
uos Nothing to Gain by Send
ing Team to France.

~, ,ublic interest III du'oii''Ni'o 0POON e
=" ls,cs contests. A half dozen years
.,,omotile enthusiasts were aroused
Hbo heat over the marvellous contests
o.s in the great struggles for tho
s.-bnt trophy down on the Long Island
manufacturers began preparations
..,s event months in advance. Tho
iOi ros talked about and discussed all
'a.o .ho world and careful plans were laid
nc factories of the world in an at
% win the Vanderbilt trophy. and.
D,so,tallv. increase the sale OF cars-a
"asnlt certain 10 follow victory.
., car won. and It became in day IA
,,s throughout the world The defeated
..r,nstants went home 10 build and plan
,, Thousands upon thousands or dol
- were spent on these racing freaks
"a tho manufacturers grew tired Of tho
r.~r,oYs expense. and in self-defence the
~, ruropean builders. who had been play
g., this game the hardest agreed lhat the
-.er,,s did not Justify the enormous ex-
,snses. and racing was stopped.
~ American manufacturer had been
.,o busv building cars 10 take care OF the
.,r,rsntlv Unsuitable demand to so INTO
~ racing game against his big foreign
rivals. -,-...
90, t.v. times one or two American manu-
....,,rors had IN the fell paused long enough
:, +beir yyorl, 10 tune up one or two cars,
ar5 after few hurried experiments with
= ,-,av- 70 making them faster had entered
,bs,o ir the big annual contest a few
,,r,ss the manufacturer had even been am
,t.,o,s enough 10 build two or three racing
80 hut he had not hoped TO win, and, as
r,,,o made but o. sorry showing.
.,rvt.b the agreement Of foreign manu-
,.o,,,re,s to withdraw from racing came
~ orrcrtuuitv # Tho American builder.
-. corceiyed the idea Of racing with his
cock car. Here was form of contest
"a, was inexpensive. lie had learned
.t-orcb the hard service TO which his Gus
toners mad been subjecting their cars in
touring over the rough country roads of
America how 20 build q car which would
Sand rp and endure. and with bigger
motors a-d the increased demand for bigger
cars an more power he had learned how
also 70 build for speed
Tn 1907 the Vanderbilt Cup race had al
most become a memory, and automobile
racing had become in America as in Eu-
rope. apparently a thing OF the past. y
number OF manufacturers and dealers con-
ceiyed the idea OF. and entered an agree
rent 10 conduct a road race between stock
cars or cars they were building or selling
10 their customers. This involved little ex-
pense. lor the cars required no special
preparation. Il being only necessary to strip
hem down 70 racing condition and start
them away The Briarcliff race held in
New York City in April. 1908. was the re-
suit, and II furnished one OF the most in
eresting and most stirring road races that
had ever been seen IN America.
"A foreign stock car won. but the show
ng made by the American cars gave dem
orstraton Of the fact that the American
builder was learning how to build car
that would at least make showing much
more oreditable than had ever been wit
messed in former racing events.
Even before this, the idea OF a contest
between stock cars had been put into exc
eyt.on IN twenty four-hour races. In Phil
Uslphia the season before an American
huft Lo5ier had won a twenty-four-hou
noe. defeating the Mercedes and Darracq'
both Of these makes OF cars having been
winners or important factors in the big
Vanderbilt Cup race. anu later in the sea-
son. at Brighton Beach, y. Y an Amer
lean Thomas and Lozier had finished
first and second in twenty-four-hour events.
again defeating the Darracq as well as
De Dietrich, Pilain and a De Ia Haye-all
OF them cars prominent IN the great road
racing events Of the world At Morris
Park, IN the same year. the Renault and
Fat each won a twenty-four-hour event,
but the American cars had run them
hard race and had left the Hotchkiss and
De Dietrich in the rear
these events marked the beginning OF
re supremacy Of the American stock car
IN racing contests limited 20 the class OF
ears built and offered for SALE for in 1908
two American Lozier cars finished first and
second defeating a foreign built Renault
and Fiat and thirty days later an Ameri-
csn Simplex repeated the performance by
winning the second Neutrality-suspicious. race,
an American Lozier finishing second, and
both cars defeating. in addition to the Flat
and Renault, an imported Zust. In fact
IN all Of the twepty-four- races OF 1905
1909 and 1910 American cars were with one
or two exceptions universally victorious.
"since 1907 the American stock car has
won the majority Of the great road con-
tests held IN America In the Savannah
races, held IN 1903 and 1910 the big, high
powered foreign racing machines were VIC
tors, but n the 1910 running Of the Grand
Prize the showing made by the American
stock cars was such as TO encourage foi-
lowers OF the sport 70 believe that the
American stock cars will in the future De
able 10 hold their own In long distance
events with the fastest special cars which
the European factories are able TO produce;
IN fact In the Savannah Grand Prize OF
no while the first and second cars to
nnish were imported Benz racers, driven
BY Brown ard Hemery, the only other cars
70 finish were the Marquette Buick, two
Loziers and q Marmon. all American cars.
Recently news has come from abroad
hat the Grand Prize contest OF the old
osys IS 20 be revived. Manufacturers have
'ornd that they have been losing the val
usole lessons which racing has taught
'essons which the American manufacturer
engaged in racing tho last three years has
0ttn learning and taking to heart. A fe"
years ago an American manufactures would
nave considered the winning OF a Granc
rnze race the greatest honor which he
oud possibly achieve In the racing world
oot tho victories Of American cars the last
."o years have been so marked that IL Is
e0unuul If any attempt will DO made by ar
american company 70 send a team abroad
" contest for the French Grand Prize"
MANY SCHoOLBoYS ENTERED