Arizona republican., 1916-03-05
RENE THOMAS T0
 DRIVE PEUGEOT
Hero of 1914 50O-miler Re- leased from Military Duty; De Lage Pilot En- ters Next Indianapolis Speedway Race


 service in France and will drive May 1 go in the sixth Annual Sweepstakes |, race at Indianapolis ln this brief i significant announcement are con- densed volumes. Thomas, phleg- ] matic master of motor mysteries 1 fearless, dangerous, but not reckless 1 soldier with many hero medals, avia- i tor with daring exploits to his credit, experienced engineer and gentleman. will be an attraction second to none ! for the motor car racing season ot 1916. He is scheduled to risk the submarine dangers, the floating mine perils, and leave his native country March 25, so that he can arrive hero about April l.
 His contract which was signed by cable. according to T. B. Myers. gen eral manager of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gives him the op- portunity to take from DePalma the position that DePalma took from Thomas when DePalma won the 1915 race. and inasmuch as DePalma will be in this yer's event, it is only reasonable to expect speed duel be- tween those two intrepid pilots that Win go down into history. Thomas
 won at the wheel of a DeL.age, beat ing Jules GouX's record of 1913 with sensational margin. GouXs aver age was 15.92 miles per hour for the
 entire 50G miles. But Thomas, who
 was considerable of Q dark horse be fore the race of 1914, kept coming
 mile after mile SO steadily and per
 sistently that early in the race it
 vas seen that if he stayed GouX's record was doomed. When the check cred flag finally sign7lled that Thomas had negotiated the five cen
 tury first. the timers announced the remarkable speed of S247 miles an hour But what DePalma did to this record in 1915, in the parlance of the street was aplenty,' with time of
 S9.S4 miles per -four. Credit is given Thomas for his ability to think in
 emergencies as well as for the mar
 velous speed he coaxed from his
 mechanical mount, because crisis
 after crisis developed in that wears
 race which would have made q less capable driver lose his head ami
 wreck his chances if not his car. It will te remembered that Boillot
 went after Thomas with savage ferocty and was giving Thomas l neck and neck struggle that would have caused other drivers to resort to desperation, but not so the calm Thomas. Even after Boillot was put out of running hy an accident. others took mp the job of annoying
 the imperturable Thomas These were Duray. who finished second; Goux, who was Beillot's disappointed
 teammate, and others. Many emer- gencies flashed in front of Thomas, but he was always able to wiggle out , For example, when almost through | the gruellirg race the exhaust pipe extending along the entire side of his l car was broken loose and was about | to drop off. Had Thomas stopped l then for repairs, it would probably have lost him the race. Although roaring. redhot car, and plotting his rearing, red-hot car, and plotting his l way through the mass of speeding l competitors. he had sufficient re- source at his command to yell into 1 his mechanicians ear instructions i'that saved the day. The mechanic 1 ian instantly took the belt from
 around Thomas waist, and, although he blistered his hands painfully,
 strapped the belt around the loosened 1 exhaust pipe and held it until the 1 race vas finished and won.
 l That Thomas will have the fight of
 his life this year is accepted as q
 matter of course and is appreciated no more hy any one than by Thomas ! himself. He will drive a Peugeot car | tho property Of the Indianapolis l Speedway Team company. and now 1 being 'tuned' at the Hoosier capital I his car is one of several that the | Indianapolis Speedway owners have purchased or are having built. and ! they will be known as the Indian | apolis Speedway Team company. As | teammate, Thomas in all probability will have the famous John Aitken, Wac probably will drive another Peu- | geot owned by these Indianapolis PeppIe AL lItseHt II IS fol kHOWH who will do the head work" in | Thomas pit at the side of the track, as it was thought that this job | would be delegated to the expe- | rienced Aitken. No doubt Resta l Burman, DePalma, and others of the l famous stars who have been mentally | running the coming Indianapolis race | for many months. will have their | dope completely upset by this an- | rouncement that Thomas will be on the job again. The T.. $. A. boys | frankly admit that they are tired of 1 letting these foreigners come over to their happy hunting grounds, and | then sail tranquilly away with a for tune in prize money neatly tucked away in their pockets.
 War dispatches, even though cen sorcd, leave no room for doubt but that Thomas has been a public fav- orite in Paris because of his repeat ed exploits during the present Euro-
 rean war, and although he will stay in this country until December as a member of the Indianapolis Speed Way Team company yet it is rnder- stood that he expects to go back after his furlough and resume his place as a soldier, for he frankly war to be over by that time
 Thomas is the product of Porte Maillot, where it is said that he was