The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-05-05
HOW SPEED KINGS
GOT THEIR START
FIRST EXPERIENCE AS DRIVERS
OF CARS USUAL IN TEST
ING TRIPS.
SEARCH Fl r t OBJECTS Fl &c S
BRINGS OUT QUALITIES or MAN
AT WHEEL AS WELL As Az
ToMoBILEs AS INvEsTiGA-
TOR FINDS OUT.
SEARCH Fl r ( EJECT Fl "a S S

] Where do the automobile racing dri-
vers come from?
| Nobody las never written the ro-
nance of the man behind the wheel
af the big racing Gutomobiie--prcpd-
bly, because there il little glammor
In the story of how he got there,
} But go to Detroit-the center Of the
I automobile industrg-and watch the
men who test out unfinished Hudson
cars over zoo miles of fierce Michigan
= thorougafares and You haze come
upon one breeding place OF the race
driycrs's sreed germ.
e here yo1 witt find IN tfhv CURSE Of an
obscure tester" the racing driver Of
the years -eaiaie. On the Itaszfss!t~ ttf
! the institution he is down rs a rough
i test man" His duty Is to take an
e"-A',' bled car out onto as bad road
as can be found and work the car
/ as hard as possible 70 bring out any
t nossihle defects be1UTe the CIT lE turned
over to the motorist. e.
His track" consists Of several
stretches of read that are scientifically
determined upon as the worst roads 10
/ be found within miles Tht test
/ route" In generally from L Ia - miles
/ from start TO finish.
/ Run over the llst OF race drivers
I you have heard of. 4aG Viii find
| scarcely any Who have not been test
ers.'
Burnan was Tester"
/ Speed ling" Bob Burnlan war
tester and his racing aspirations
were inspired BY the rough looking
test cars" In which he hurled through
! space to bring cut the possible defects
after the chassis OF the car had been
assembled Mortimer j. Roberts. whose
maine il known from one end OF the
country 10 the other. was once a
! tester And there's scarcely u
! famous driver today who has not guild
ed the wheel OF stripped chassis. the
entire equipment of which WAS u dri-.
ver's seat aud Il hood TO cover the
/ Ine tester" to the automobile tn
] dustry is what the cowboy II 10 the
ranch. Tfc motor cowboy" daily risks
lie for owners of automobiles.
+ Yet few motorists even. know his
existence or the romance connected
with his life and the e42ctinE duties
I r. ,,--f or
Az rt4lt. tie hester and canning
race -firiver starts out 10 fortify his
/ failure by learning a trade That takes
+ him TO some machine shop from when
/ he ACQUIRES q mechanical turn OF nina
and eventually graTitates into the
automobile business, the ground floor
Of whieh is the '.rousll test depart
uent."
/ Takes TO the Work.
| After acquiring sufficient knowledge,
| the man who will make good
is'4esfer' takes TO the work like duck
| 10 water.
Then II becomes hls primary duty
| To put tho cars to which - is as
signed through vigorous practice aver
/ the test route"
Ills datv IL Ia discover the faults
/ Of cars that are not 100 per cent
right and at normal seasons OF the
wear there are 100 testers the ma
/ jority az whom have aspirations TO ho
racing driVers-~who daily do fifty and
/ sixty mile clips over tho fierce roads
I that constitute the test route"
These testers take some chances
+ that racing pilots never take. The
latter perform their seats over spe-
| cialiy prepared courses in machines
/ specially groomed under the most
xpert supervision and tried out over
and over again for weeks before they
are actually opened up wide"
+ But the tester" with picturesque
! aha ndon. takes out new. roughly clad
/ machines and sends than hurtilns
/ over terrific stretches OF road at mile
! Il minute speed to prove that wheel
1 VIII! not come or hero. nor par
there--whfre holes and other oh
stacles appear intont upon wholesale
/ destruction,
/ a newspaper man, who had never
heard Of the motor ear tester befor-
had never known the birthplace OF
the speed germ Ct tbs racing pilot
tfseh II With Hudson tester rss@
Gently and came to realize more thor
opghly what wonderful hit OF con-
I struction an automobile Is, For the
motor car stands more ehuse than any
other piece OF machinery IN the
!! world. -...>.,s.. ..-S,ss..s. :, =.
X geas !4e.3iii.ass Aift fSt.e41 tifee news
paper man reached the plant OF the
Hudson. He knew nothing about test-
! ing and supposed thar the weather
was too fierce for any road work.
The newspaper man had been in
! vited to take q ride, but didn't count
or Ia swim.
"Wil they go out IN this" repeated
! the head tester" with plying look.
Nv ny, soff. they go ot1t every work
| ing day In the year, regardless of what
e