Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-05-31
;nE pAIMA SETS FAST PACE AND
LEAps uNTiL NEAR FINISH,
WHEN ENGINE Breaks.
ITALIAN DRIVER ATTEMPTS
TO PUSH CAR LAST LAP
Fiv. Hundred Mile. Covered By Win
nor in s:2,:s-T.tz,am Second,
.!s1oshus Hughes Third-onIy Ten
Cars Finish. MuIferd Trailing in
Last-Ne Serious Mishaps.
I'll, Car. rh.t Finished.

The Cars That Finished.
No. Driver and car. Time.
Dawson. National .6:2l:OS
2-Tetzlaff, Fiat :2S
3-Hughes, Mercer .6:34:oo
l-Nerz, Stutz ............. %: 80: 80
5-Endicott, Schacht .........6:4 :46:3s
6-Zengel. stut1 %: oO:a
Jenkins, White ............ q: o2:S
s-Horan, Lozier ............ :5S:31
s-Wiicox, National ..........7:11:So
1O-Mulford. Knox .......... diasged)
Distance, 500 miles. Winners aver
age. 1872 miles per hour. Harroun's
average last year, 74.s1.
Indianapolis Ind. May 81 Joe
Dawson drove his National to victory
and q new worlds record in the sec
ono ;.saS::.:.aI roo mile race with Ralph
De Palma, who had led him for 495
miles. stranded on the backstretch.
robbed Of glory and pelf by the break
ing 81 a connecting rod in his Mer-
cedes. Dawson's time was 6:21:o6. an
average Of 1872 miles an hour. Ray
Harroun's record for the event last
year was 6:42:os. No serious accidents
marred the day.
Teddy Tetzlaff, in Fiat. finished
second, and Hughie Hughes, Mercer.
third. TetzlafEs time was 6:31:29.
Hughes Mercer pushed the Fiat hard
for the position. completing the racing
in 6:34: 56.5.
De Palma's Dsfsat Tragic.
De Palma's defeat was tragic. For
1913 laps he had led the field in the
rush. He broke every speedway record
up to $50 miles and had comfort
able lead of eight laps when. the thing
OF steel failed him. With victory In
his Grasp. he was greeted by the cheer
Ing acknowledgment Of the throng as
ne thundered past the stand on his
197th lap. When directly in front Of
the tSdges' stand his engine choked
The spesd was materially lessened
and with q few convulsive shudderings
the car retarded its flight. De Palma
worked as maniac shifting gears and
shooting oil, but relief was hopeless.
The crowd, realizing something serious
had thfottled the leader, halted their
generous approval.
Then as the favored Dawson dashed
past the leader a roar Of hope went up
from the native sons" in the stand.
De Palma nursed his car around one
lap. The Indianapolis hero. driving
like q nend. passed him twice. Even
then De Palma. with only two more
laps to go, had the advantage, and in
stead of stopping at the pits he chose
to lose all rather than halt for repairs
that he might finish later in the race.
With motor gasping he passed all
hone Of relief at the pits. The machine
crawled painfully around the first turn.
Attention was shifted from Its progress
to that of Dawson, who drove as one
frantic De Palma reached the middle
Of the baekstretch.
Prociaims Lawson Winner.
There with q final shrek his engine
stopped. He was out. He knew 1t.
Even then he did not quit. He leaped
from the machine, pulled Rupert jeff
kins, his mechanic, after him, and
started 4 tortuous attempt to cross the
line first by pushing his car.
Time would not permit gameness to
conquer, and long before the Italian
and his mechanic could shove the inert
mass acros6 the tape Starter Fred r.
Wagner had flashed the checkered flag
before Joe Dawson. proclaiming an
American hoy in an American carr vic
tor in the greatest Of all automobile
races.
De Palma's mishap does not sub
tract any Of the glory from Dawson's 8
victory. The National pilot mounted on
the. smallest OF the three cars entered
by the National Motor Company used
all the ability gained by two years OF
successful experience.
He made with hght In every turn Of
his wheel. He negotiated the dangerous
turns with his mind centered on the
fact that other drivers were ripping
tires to bits. on the bank. De Palma
often gained7a few yards on the curves
but the Italians car was better bal
anced to have shoes, and Dawson knew
It.. IS
Daw,sen Uses His Head.
While wilcox and Bruce Brown, his
teammates were grinding their
chances to pieces in the big six Ma
tionals, Dawson with his four ran wild
en- the stfaightaways and conserved on
the turns. A. consequence Bruce
Rrcysn wass lost early In the race and
wilcox Anished = poor ninth.
DON Herr drove approximately 100
miles Of the race ar tho victor's relief.
Again Dawson's brain worked and be-
fore the sfelleH pilot was substituted he
was cautioned against waste Of en-.
erSy IN liking tires or repairing an en-.
gine.s
DawslA could have driven the en-
tire race He used his head more than
Des Palma. Do Palma was tired during
the last afty miles. He confessed II.
DaWson fresh. with eye clear and
brain active. pushed up the pace to the
point where the Mercedes fooled.
9utsuesses Tstxlan.
Dawson was not in the race until the
eighth lap. Even then De Palma, Wis
: hart, Bruee- Brown. Tetxlan. Mulford.
and Wilcox led him. In the eleventh
the winner was In sixth place, push
tnS Tetsld4 e the limit. He did not