The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-05-30
Took Fourteen and a Half
Minutes From Bruce
Browns Record.
ENORMOUS CROWD ATTENDS
THE DEATH OEFY|MC CONTEST
Twenty.four of the Worlds Most En-.
nous Drivers and their Cars Started
on the Test of Speed and Endurance
at 10 O'clock.

speedway Indlanapo May 90
Beating down worlds records wi.h
every mile. Ralph De Palma driving a.
Mercedes. led the field by lap at
the end of the first $50 miles of the
900 mile race at the Indianapolis
speedway today.
His time for the distance was
49:02 as against the record Of
l:5':15 set by Bruce Brown in a Fiat
last Year.
Under the eyes of $4,000 people
watching eagerly the 2lh mile course
the twenty-one cars tina, remained IL,
the race at $50 mile mark ground out
'hc laps with clock-like regular arity.
Joe Dawson in National was second
10 DE Palma with Tetzlaff in Fiat a
close third. The field followed in a
long string -
Under cloudess sky, thousands of
motor fans from al parts of the coun-
.rN assembled today in the odor of
gasoline on the indianapolis speedway
lof the great event of the auto world.
tne second annual running of the
american 500 mile sweepstakes.
Al daylight the exodus from the CITY
Ito the speedway park began by train,
trolley and touring cars, and the sun
lo'1nd the grandstands on the outer
eose ana the parking spaces on the
inner circuit of the brick oval begin
ming TO fill With an enormous crowd
that was to see twenty-four of the
most famous drivers and their cars
patt!e for the honor and fortune of
enjoying With Ray Harroun and the
Marmon Wasp the classic title of VIM
nef OF the greatest race of motordom.
WIN an explosive roar of the enor-
nous engines especially built for this
Of 4
the cars came together at the timing
WIRE at $50 O'Clock, five motley ranks
OF special creations of Italian, French.
German and American engineers built
IN Groteque shapes the better tc
Icieave the air.
In tumult of cheering from the ex-
cited multitude. Starter Wagner let the
cars go at 10 o'clock.
RaNing and stranine at the leash
the cars made one slow parade lap led
ny GLAND Anderson in Stutz No
ana coming again to the wire leaped
lthunderins into the race, pressing
together in a binding cloud of burned
gasoline.
DePalma held the lead at twenty
mules mile, which was covered in l4:as;
Nishart in a Mercedes was second;
Bruce Brown. in National was third
Teddy sTetzalff and his Fiat and
Raph DePalma and his Mercedes bat
tied for the lead in the opening laps
and the others strung out. al hitting
at top speed the high white hanks
where death has trapped so many dar-
ing drivers Tetzlaff's time for the
Then he lost the lead to DePalma
DePalna covered the first twenty
'niles in l4:oS, lettering the old rec
lord of 1929 set hy Marquis in an
1sotta AT Los Angeles.
Spencer Wishart in second Mer-
cedes KEEP, at DePalma's heels with
Bruce Brown in National third
Worlds records fell throughout the
mark of 1:13:01 over Tetzlad's old
record of l:l4:2a. Joe Dawson, in a
National. pounded into second place
land Spencer Wishart took third.
Bruce Brown Withdrew his National
and Harry Knight his Lexington be-
cause of engine troubles.
Tire trouble overlook De Palma in
the 1Soth mile and he stopped for a
change. but at the 200 mile he kept
the lead and had set new record
of o:2l:46.
De Palma led at $50 miles The
time was 1:49;o2. Turning into the
stretch in the sixty-third lap Mar
nuettes. III a Mcfarland. skidded and
plunged against the retaining wall.
Both front wheels of the car were
broken off hut Marquette and the
mechaniciar We're not injured.
The eighth car to go out was Lie
saws Buick. which broke a cylinder
head and smashed a crank case on
the back stretch in the seventy
second lap. pePalma continued tc
pull ahead at the 25o mile mark
just half the distance. His time was
3:03:34, Just II Ia minutes better
than Bruce Browns time last year.