The Washington herald., 1915-06-06
SPEEDWAY RACE
POPULAR EVENT
Officials Pleased with 75,OOO
Attending Under Threat
ening Skies.
NO ACCIDENTS MAR IT
D. Palma Won with Car Which Had
Cylinder Gone and Holes in
Crank Head.
NO ACCIDENTS MAR II

Indianapolis, June 5.-Despite the nu-
nerous handicaps which had to De com
hated in the staging OF the n1th ih'ei
,ional JO0-mile race, the lnoiahap
,,otor speedway management -,
that contest by far the most SUCCESS
in its history. Both from the pom.
yisw of financial profit and OF spor. IL
furnished conclusive evidence that
,,,;,o racing. as conducted at Indianapolis
i,i'ie - tn worlds most popular pas
times. ,,s b,. Of
The attendance figures, checked ps OF
so;.I recount shot about 1000 over tne
mark expected by speedway oiiieia
uben they were asked 10 ahhouiNe
postponement of the contest.
five thousand spectators, by actual cou,.'
filed through the gates between NV
hours of and u, many not aIrNle
~ the contest was almost hall over NC
oars. of the lowering skies. But for the
;nc.ssant rains the days previous, "hich
.,usad hundreds of tours to the race 10
10 abandoned and the heaHN CLOUDS
which obscured the horizon on the ihorh-
ing of the contest. soaring away many
800 +, is certain the attendance "oulu
have raised the usual 10000 marx.
OniciaIs Pleased.
,s n was. however. the speedway OIL
fcials are very well setished' inc laii'l7
off i'm the attendance volume pelie nv
than COMPENSATED by the increase III ''''
admission fee at the field gates 10 e. a.
rompared with sr- last year-this uesPi,e
the fact that grandstands ID ana u WEE
thrown open free of charge to touring
parties who had to park their cars ou,-
side the grounds instead of in the lnleio'
which WAS too soggy to permit OF motor
CIR travel. Financially, therefore. the
race was as much of a success rs ever
From, tho roint Of view of sport there
was never as great a contest III Liz
world'j history. The battle between
Eesta and De Palma foT hrst' WIN 'ne
Stutz team constantly at theh hec's
ready TO replace them should either one
rack stands without parallel IN racing
annals. Had the spectators known WHAT
M Palma knew when his car met win
an accident similar to that ne sus'aiieu
in 1872 and in almost the same loehlcai ,
spo; on his 19Sth lap, It is a safe pet ma
half of them wc1ld have left the heiu
raving maniacs. As it was, ho~eHer'
Ralph shot his car through to the finish
u.itb one cylinder gone. and two holes
n,ncbed thu ough his crank case by
broken COM Getting rod. For once ne
had beaten the jinX. and came nome
5CO-Inile victo-
The ay.rag, set by De Palma. &.s4
miles an hour. is one racing experts pre-
dict will stand for a long time Maze
under ideal weather condistions. as Tar
as sreed is concerned, it will take lot
of beating to surpass. Machinery Is not
made to stand a pace much faster. as
DE Palma's mishap at the close OF MS
sensational flight conclusively proved
Some regret is felt that DE Palma couio
not have made 1t an even ninety miles
an hour; even so, however. 1874. but
IS 1cO shv of the mark. should be enough
to satisfy almost anybody
No Accidents Whatever.
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 handing OF
the immense crowd over the mired. slip
perry roads. The new safety wall. bullt
this wear by the speedway. more than
repsid the cost of its installation on a
couple OF occasions. once saving Darfo
Rcsta from injury when he skidded on
a turn while trying to get lead on De
Palma. and another when Ralph Null
ford lost control Of his machine and slid
from one wall to another without any
damage. Last year the same protective
arrangement would without doubt have
saved Chassagne, Joe Dawson. and 9TH
,rs from harm. their trouble coming
when they slid of into the soft dirt
caught. and overturned.
From the point of view of the future.
De Palma's victory was about the most
se satisfactory the speedway could have
Imagined. The fact that he drove a Ger
man car is expected TO draw many Amer
lean 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
,onclusively proves this country has an
wen chance with any nation in the
world as far as driving ability is con-
.erned.
Previously. the impression had been
current that both foreign cars and driv-
Frs were superior to those of America
De Palma nailed the latter theory to
the cross, and American manufacturers
next year. Packard. Overland. and sew
.raI others will enter the game. 1t is
,aid. with this idea in view.
Incidentally mention must be made of
the fact that Gil Anderson's Stutz crush
,ngly smashed the j0o-mile record for
American-made carr with an average of
T.60 miles an hour but two miles re-
moved from De Palma, despite the fact
that he had seven tire changes as against
he Italians two. The National and
Marmon outfits, former record holders,
will not tolerate this condition longer
than they can help, 1t is thought. and
may. accordingly. be expected to be back
In the fray next year. With the war
over. and the European racing teams
once more in line. the next Indian polls
500-mile race should be the greatest of
all.
Barnhart to Attend Convention,
A convention will be held at the Pull