El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-12
POSTNORTEM0F
BIC AUTO RACE
Time Record Set at Indian
apolis Will Stand a Long
Time; Notable Features.

Indianapolis, InO.. June 12.-Despite
the numerous handicaps Which had to
be combated in the staging Of the fifth
International 50O-mile race, the In
dianapolis motor speedway manage
most successful in its history Both
ment considers that contest by far the
from the point Of view of financial
profit and Of sport II furnished con-
elusive evidence that 500-mile racing,
as conducted at Indianapolis, is one
Of the worlds most popular pastimes-
The attendance figures, checked by
official recount shot about %. 900. over
the mark expected by speedway Off
Gals when they We're wOrded to an
nOunce the postpOnement of the con-
test Seventy-fTe thousand specta-
tors, by actual count. filed through
the gates between the hours Of six
and twelve, many not arriving until
the contest was almost half over, be-
cause of the lowering skies. But for
the incessant rains the DAYS previous.
which caused hundreds OF tours to the
race to be abandoned, and the heavy
clouds which obscured the horizon on
the. morning of the contest, soaring
away many more, it Is certain the at
tendance would have passed the usual
100000 mark
Attendance Falls on.
At it was. however. the speedway
officials are very well satisfied, the
falling off in the attendance volume
being more than compensated by the
increase in the admission fee at the
field gates TO two dollars, as compared
with one dollar, last year; this despite
the fact that grandstands d and G
were thrown open free Of charge TO
touring parties who had 10 park their
cars outside the grounds instead Of
in the infield, which was too soggy
TO permit of motor car travel Finan-
cially. therefore, the race was as much
OF a success as ever
Never n Greater Race.
From the point Of sport, there was
never as great a contest in the worlds
history. The battle between Eesta and
De Palma for first. with the Stutz team
constantly at their heels ready to re-
place them. should either one crack.
stands without parallel in racing an
nails Had the spectators known what
De Palma knew, when his car met with
an accident similar to that he sus-
tanned in 1912. and in almost the same
Identical spot on his 19Sth lap. il is
a safe bet that half of them would have
left the field raving maniacs- As II
was however Ralph shot his car
through TO the finish. with one cylinder
gone. and two holes punched through
his crank case by a broken connecting
rod For once he had beaten the jinx,
and come home a 5O0-mile victory.
Average to Stand.
The average set by De Palma. 1884
miles an hour is one racing experts
predict viii stand for a lone time. Made
under ideal weather conditions, as FAR
as speed is concerned. il viii take a
lot OF beating TO surpass- Machinery
is not made TO stand a pace much fast
er, as De Palma's mishap at the close
of his sensational flight conclusively
proved. Some regret Is felt that De
Palma could not have made II an even
ninety miles an hour even so, how
ever, S9-SA. but 1900 shy Of the mark.
should be enough 10 satisfy almost any
body
Some Narrow Escapes.
Particular satisfaction is felt by the
speedway management over the fact
that there were no accidents, either in
the running of the race, or in the hand
Ling Of the immense crowd over the
mired. slippery roads The new safety
wall built this year by the speedway,
more than repaid the cost OF its in
stallation on a couple Of occasions, once
saving Dario Rest from injury, when
he skidded on turn while trying TO
get a lead and. slid from one way TO
another without any damage Last
year, the same protective arrangement
would without doubt have saved Chas-
sagne, Joe Dawson, and others from
harm. their trouble coming when they
slid off into the soft dirt, caught. and
overturned.
To Make Americans Work.
From the point of view Of the future
De Palma's victory was about the most
satisfactory the speedway could have
imagined. The fact that he drove a
German car is expected 10 draw many
American manufa cturers, who are not
now in the racing game, into the fray,
for the purpose Of showing that cars
can be built as good in this country as
abroad while the fact that he is an
American conclusively proves this
country has an even chance with any
nation in the world. as far as driving
ability is concerned Previously the
impression had been current that both
foreign cars and drivers were superior
to those Of America De Palma nailed
the latter theory to the cross. and
American manufacturers have every
hope OF disprOvinE the former next
year. Packard. Overlan4. and several