Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-03-10

winning three of the important /:
road races II finishing fourth in ::
two others. Motor Age and the ::
motoring world selects Ralph De {:
Palma as the American road rae ::
ing champion of 1914. :.
Cnqucstionably only three pilots can
be considered ior the driving cham
pionship-De Palma. Pullcn and Old
field. and when the evidence is sifted
to the bottom it leaves DE Palma bow
ing that the laurel wreath may be
placed on his brow, De Palma won
three of the five big road races OF the
year. scoring firsts III the Vanderbilt
at Santa Monica last February. and in
both vents at Elgir, the Chicago Au-
toinohilc club cup and the I,lgin Ma
tional trophy. His other two starts
We're the grand priX at Santa Monica
and the recent Corona speed duel. In
the former he finished fourth. after
having once been in the lead. Ia the
latter he also was fourth and both
times the winner was Pullen.
PulIen's Fine Showing.
On Pullen's side one finds that he
has a record of two first and Il second
In his five starts. twice being unable
to finish. He and De Palma competed
In the same five races. which makes
the comparison easier. Pullen started
the season at Santa Monica with II
victory in the grand prix. which fol-
lowed his elimination in the Wander
bilt at "A time when it looked as if he
would be a winner, Il broken wheel, the
result of taking Death. curve too fast.
stopping him when he WAS far out IN
the front.
Vt Elgin Pullen again stacked UP
with DE Palma and the honors went To.
the Italian. who shattered precedent
by winning both classics. Pullen failed
to finish the first day. but on the sec
ond ne was runnerup to De Palma. es-
tapllshlng a nonstop record which was
beaten only at Corona by Oldfield in
the Maxwell. Pullen's championship
STOCK went up a notch at Corona. where
ne established a worlds road racing
record that is SO sensational thai crit
lcs sum are gasping at the dizzy speed.
stacking UP the respective claims of
DE Palma and Pullen. one must admit
that. while to the Italian belongs the
championship title. yet the most ar
dent admirers of the Mercedes pilot
must admit tina Pullen stands very
to the throne.
Oldfield's Consistency Record.
Oldfield drove in the same five clas-
sizes as did his two rivals and he went
them n better by participating In the
cactus derby in which he carried off
the honors. The six starts of tho
master driver Of the world" netted
MIN one first. two seconds, one third.
one fourth and one time not finishing.
Surely that is a showing which en-
litied the veteran to some considera-
ton n so Motor Age hands out to
the consistency title.
The Oldffeld ticket shows that i'm
the Vanderbilt Barney was -up
70 De Palma, a puncture on the last
slowing the veteran when ii looked
as II ne would break into the lime
light. In the grand prix he made ~ gall
lant showing as long as he was run
ming. In both these Santa Monica
events Oldfield drove a Mercer. AT
i.igin IN a Stutz he landed fourth in
the Chicago Automobile club Gun race
n third in the Elgin national. The
mex Dig race was the cactus derby,
and when Oldfield, in a Stutz, was de-
ciared winner I'm the gruelling grind
from Los Angeles to Phoenix it marked
Barney's first road race victory. Shift
ing to a Maxwell at Corona ne was a
gallant second to Pullen.
Many Speedway Events.
speedway racing seems to have
come into It's own, for this year there
were five races of this kind. each won
apolis' 500-mile race was won by Rene
hoHas In a Delage; Sioux City's 300
mile race went to Rickenbacher in u
Duesenbcrg; while at Tacoma. which
now Is classed az n speedway by the
A. A. A.. the winners were Cooper in
g. Stutz. Hughes in a Maxwell and
Parsons in a Frantz. which IL said ia
q rebuilt Stutz.
This activity carries the fans back
TO 1910, when there were three speed
ways IN Observation-Disclosures. At
ianta and Los Angeles-and presages
much for next year, when one can reas-
onably expect to see the speedway
world augmented by big tracks at Min
neapolis. New York. Omaha and pos
sibly Chicago. Philadelphia and KIM
q City.
racing on one-mile circular tracks
also experienced q boom this wear
through the promotion OF a series al
lOO-mile races. in which there was real
competition. involving Burman. Null
Iord, De Palma and Bergdoll and
bringing into prominence such pron,-
Using youngsters as Alley and O'Don-
II II remarkable that in each OF
these four centuries. the 100 mile dirt
track record was broken. Starting
with De Palma's 1:40:15 at Brighton
Beach. the mark was hammered to
1:34:2S by Rurman at Kalamazoo; to
!:SS:54 at GaIe4burg. and to 1:31:30
by Alley at Minneapolis.
M New spssdway Records Made.
spcnsible for the establishing OF a new
OF competition marks In the nnual
5O0-mile ace at Indianapolis, which
again was won by q foreigner, this time
Rene Thomas In q Delage. whose time
Of e:03:46. an averageaof BAT miles per
hour, beat the Nationals record, which
established by Dawson In. 1919. Of
g:31 :Oe. m average OF 1871. The next
fhroo.Wore f~Orelgner8: then came Bar