The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-05-22

tor car maker can produce, forty
six of The fastest racing automobiles
ever assembled are at the Indianapo-
lis Motor Speedway awaiting the
elimination trials next Friday
which will determine whether they
are eligible to start in the 5O0-mie
International sweepstake ace on
Memorial Day, May 80. Every car
mus. show speed OF seventy-fiye
miles an hour to qualify for one OF
the greatest races in the history o.
the motor contest sport. When tn
entries to this event were closed
May ], there were forty-siN cars en-
tered, manned by a lis; OF drivers
which includes every well-known pilot
in America, as well as several who
made their reput.tons in Europe
before coming to the United States.
II has been nine months since
the initial announcement of this con-
test was made by the promoters and
"
crease OF interest on the part OF the
public as well as the manufacturer.
Almost six months ago the first
entry was made, when a CAGE car,
with Lewis Strang 9s the drive,.
was entered. From that time on the
entries were sent in steadily until
the largest field ever drawn together
for one event was announced when
the entries were c'osed. The great.
est number of entries in any one
contest previous to this was twenty
six
The long race has assumed even
greater proportions than the pro,
moters had anticipated when the
I purse Of $4,000 in gold was offered
, for the winners of the first ten plac-
/ es, \ capital prize of $4,000 headed
list OF nine others as follows:
! Second, $1,000; third $4,000 fourth,
$4,000 fifth, $500 sixth. $1,000:
, seventh. $500; eighth, 500: ninth,
5000; tenth $500. In addition to this
small fortune there have been added
| side prizes by various accessory
! makers, which brings the total to be
/ won up 70 about 10000. Supple
menting the cash prizes are ten
/ bronze plaques which viii be giYer
I to the entrants Of the ten winning
/ cars. 1t long has been the RUE IN
motor car racing that the driYers
shall receive the cash prizes and ne
mahers the trophies.
/ rhc conditions Of the race. which
is a class e event are that each
cu shall weigh at least 2,3oO pound,
and have no more than 500 cu'ac
inches piston displacement This
makes cars mp to about l20 horse.
| power eligible The forty six cars
have "A to,al of 2O,l50 cubic inches
Of piston displacement. giving a.
arOiago Of 43S cubic inches per car.
according TO its motor constructions. /
The majority of the cars in the race
in their tryout have averaged about
% to 100 miles per hour. while |
many of them are capable of doing ,
two miles per minute The ,H-y ,
fee paid by the entrants was $500 /.
per car
Estimates on the average sped
which will be attained in the Ions
race have varied widely. but experts /
express belief that the winner will
travel the 500 miles at a rate Of
about - miles per hour.
The race will star, at 10 o'clock .
in the morning and probably the |
winner will cross the tape on his ,
last lap about o'clock in the aft
ernoon
The officials for the race have been
chosen from all over the United
States. most OF them having been
officials at many OF the other great
race meets of the country Fred
j. Wagner of New York will act as
II,
former racing driver. will be an as
sistant. \. r. Pardington of New
York will referee. while r. p. Hoop.
er president OF the American Auto.
mobile Association, is the honorary
official in that capacity. Judges and
other officials have been chosen from
among the most prominent manu-
facturers and automobile men in the
middle west.
The method, which would b. orr
ployed to start this event. has been
difficulty for the promoters to decide.
The speedway management finally
adopted the plan of firing daylight
bombs. which explode 250 feet in the
air and give forth a dense cloud OF
smoke. one of these will he fired ,,
every minute for five minutes before
10 O'Clock and at the stroke of 10