The Washington times., 1916-07-29
LIGHTNING SPEEDS
COMMON THIS YEAR
0'DonnelI, at Corona, CAL, Runs
301 Miles at 86Ia Miles
Speed.

A review OF the important automo-
bile races during 1915 to date shows
lightning speeds to have become the
fashion.
On March 8 at the Ascot Speedway
in Los Angeles. Pullen in a Mercer.
took the 100-mile honors at over IS
miles an hour over a loose screen
surfaced macadam track which was
unusually hard on tires.
ODonnell, in Duesenberg, two
weeks later on the same track. won
a b0-mile race at over SO miles an
hour.
On April 8, at Corona, Cal, O'Don-
nell again plucked the highest honors
In 3o1-mile race at s6a miles an
hour without a single stop for tires.
The record for this course OF s7.S
miles per hour was made in 1914 by
Pullen in a Silvertown- tired Mercer.
Prior to the last race, however. six
cars did better than 1o2 miles per
hour in tryouts.
Again at the Ascot Speedway on
April 16. O'DonneiI took the l50-mile
thriller at 65.6 miles per hour.
Hughes in his Omar Special at Bak-
century over a dirt track to the tune
Of SIS miles per hour without a tire
stop.
At Sheepshesd Bay.
At Sheepshead Bay, N. Y. on May 10,
Aitken drove a Peugeot 20 miles at
over 106 miles an hour. with three
other drivers behind him each doing
better than 104 miles. In the 60-mile.
Milford in a Peugeot made nearly
los miles an hour without tire trouble,
while Rickenbacher in his Maxwell did
the 150-mile event at over SO miles
per hour without stopping.
Indianapolis, on Decoration Day. saw
Resta in a Peugeot cover 400 miles
on brick track at over SO miles an
hour, while D'Alene in a Duesenberg
and milford In Peugeot followed hot
At his heels.
Resta. again. on June II. at Chicag 60,
took the 3OO-mile event over a two-mile
board track. at close to ninety-nine miles
per hour with but one stop. The next
eight drivers In this classic. none OF
whom did under ninety miles an hour.
all rode Silvertowns.
At Des Moines. on June "a. DE rama
In his Mercedes. travelled a one-mile
board track $50 times at nearly ninety
three miles an hour. while Rickenba cher.
In Maxwell took the fifty-mile race
at ninety-four miles per hour.
De Palma. at Minneapolis. drove his
Mercedes home the winner In the 15O-
mile brush at ninety-one miles per hour.
At Sioux City, Iowa.
The latest races have been those at
Sioux City. Iowa. on July s. where
D'Alene. In a Dusenberg. garnered the
money in the ten-mile race In minutes
81 seconds. while Wilcox rode a Premier
to victory In 10 minutes seconds for
twenty miles. and also negotiated the
half century In the space Of Al minutes.
lacking one second, and at Omaha. July
.. where five new worlds records went
on record on the mile and a quarter
track.
Resta. driving a Peugeot. hung up Il0
miles an hour for five miles as the mark
for others to aim at while Rickenba CHI
err made tho Maxwell hum around the
oval at a speed that shattered all pre-
vious ten, fifteen. twenty and twenty
five-mile records, his average for
the latter being 1O3 miles per hour.
It is interesting to note that the win
ners each time have been those whose
tires were Sllvertown cord. which has
been the case since 1914. AS all racers
are required to pay cash for Silvertowns.
the deduction Is obvious. These tires
must possess more than ordinary rug
gedness and strength II one is to judge
their general adoption by the speed
kings as a criterion.