South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-02-27
DE PALMA WINS
VANDERBILT CUP
FROM OLDFIELD
Two Rivals Fight 1t Out on
Santa Monica Course and
Winner is Only 200 Yards in
Front at the Finish.

Los ANGELES. Calf. Feb. 27.-De
Palma and Oldfeld. Again autom0-
bile history Is written around those
Two names. They tell the story OF
the Vanderbilt cup race. run Thursday
over Santa MOnica's famous course,
and witnessed by 100000 spectators.
Fate sifted and sorted the field of
Is starters until only five cars were
left in the gang and then brought the
two old rivals into the most dramatic
speed duel ever witnessed on the Pa
ct1c coast. Increasing in excitement
and intensity with every mile. the
climax came with De Palma in his
Mercedes. flashing across the finishing
tape geo yards ahead OF Oldheld in his
Mercer.
Elapsed time announced as official
showed that De Palma covered II e
294 miles in three hours SO minutes
and Al seconds. Oldfelds time was
three hours 55 minutes and one sec
ond.
This gave DE Palma his second Van
derbilt victory by one minute and
&c seconds. Reduced To a miles-per-
hour. De Palma's time showed that he
averaged 1875 miles for the entire dis
tance This means that every second
of his elapsed time he averaged 10
feet His speed varied between 80
miles per hour on the straightaWayS
20 30 miles on the Nevada av. curve.
William Carlson. jr., in a Mason,
finished third in four hours. two min
utes and 80 seconds; Earl Cooper
brought his Stutz in fourth position in
four hours, four minutes and three
seconds, and George JOerimann, driv
ing a Touraine, finished fifth.
The race was conducted without
single injury 20 driver or spectator
and to Chief of Police Sandal goes the
credit of the best patrOlled course in
the history of the Vanderbilt cup.
De Palma's average is under the
worlds record held on the same course
by Teddy Tetzlaff But he established
two records for the famed Vanderbilt
race. he raised the average of the
race from the 74.06 miles per hour
set by Ralph Milford. and ne is the
first Vanderbilt winner 10 go through
the entire distance without q stop.
And on t'tat latter fact is based
..rgely his victory. Oldheld made
three stops at the pit. any one of
which reduced his running time
enough 10 offset DE Palma's winning
margin So while De Palma retains
81. 800 purse and is established as one
OF the most wonderful drivers the
world ever saw, Oldield is no less a
hero. For the veteran drove a re
markable race, characterized by
Judgment and gamenesS throughout.
And IL has added interest ten fold in
what will happen when the two meet
again over "a long distance in the In
ternatiOnal Grand Prize Saturday.
The most spectacular showing was
made by Eddie Pullen. who in his
Mercer, set an average of 50 miles an
hour for his stay of fourteen laps in
the race \ tire blowout on the Ne
fence and out of the race. Gil Ander-
son, in his Stutz, took up the lead
when Pullen dropped out He mad
been running second To Pullen up TO
that time and was setting lively pace
at an eighty-mile average. His leader
ship came To abrupt end in the 18th
lap when "a broken drive shaft stopped
him Repairs Will be made SO that
this Stutz may compete Saturday.
Earl u. Cooper. in the Othe~ StutZ.
was one of the five drivers still IL the
race at the end. He finished in FOURTH
place. which position ne held 'he lat
ter half of the race. ranging third
of a lap behind Carlson.
The fifth and only other car 20 fin
ish was the TOU aine 90 George Joer-
imam, who drove "A consistent race.
The first 20 drop out was Grant, in
his lsotta. He had covered only five
miles before the welded piston which
cylinder i'm such shape as 20 put him
hopelessly out OF the Grand Prize
also.
The first lap also saw the finish for
Dave Lewis. in Mack Sennets Mason.
Engine trouble brought him to the
pit and he could not continue. Spen-
Ger 'Wis+art dropped out with his
Mercer al the end of third lap
with "a broken water connection. Then
in order went out ]. Il. Marquis In
the sunbeam. i'm the 9th lap. with
broken differenual housing. Frank
Verbeck. n the Fiat. in the 10th with
n broken oil line. Frank GOOde. in the
Apperson. in the 18TH with similar
trouble Guy Ball. IN the Marmon in
the 18th. with gasoline exhausted
near Soldiers Home turn. Tony ia
nett in the Alec in the 22nd, with
broken cylinder.
De Palma won MS victory by keep
ing out OF the first wild flight of the
machines and then waiting for the
field TO come heck to him. As the
leaders under the eruclliu@ pace drop
ped out ne moved forward, marking
his pace and position with the judg-
ment of a champion.
Oldfield. contrary 10 scceral eNpcC-
tatfOns. did not take M the a, >nt run
ming He was contert 20 hold his own
IN fifth and third r;dces allowing the
elimination 10 move him forward in
20 second place as it had placed DE
Palma i'm the lead.