Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-01-20
Speed Kings Wage Great
Fight During Past Year

3 above the average. Moreover, he knew
:h1t car as a mother knows her own
child. its whImS. its capabilities, its
/ limitations He had been the favored
Of good luck, which to most drivers
Is a Carmen, but TO Resta seemingly
, as faithful as Virginia slave TO his
pre-bellum master. This is a COM
hination hard to beat
Many Favored
Although Resta Vas the logical
choice for the championship. there
were other drivers not without a fol-
lowing II his Mercedes was right.
DE Palma would prove a dangerous
rival Rickenbacher also was deserv-
ing OF consideration. But on his past
performances as a driver. Aiken was
one Of the dark horses Of the field.
! Except in indianapolis, where the
native son spirit is rampant, little was
expected of him. He had two things
in his favor. car of she same breed
as Resta's, one Of the three Peugeots
built for the French grand prix Of
1914, and hackers that were out to
win, James A. Allison and Carl G..
Fisher.
In the automobile world, Athens
position is anything If not unique He
Is a member Of the engineering staff
Of the National Motor Vehicle Com
pany; a graduate Of a motor car plant,
not an alumnus Of technical school;
born to the gears. the grease and the
gasoline; an expert on engines by in
tuition. skilled and experienced
1olaa ,f1 H. har L.
velopment of the annual national mod
els for several years. He has been
sent to Europe to study motor car
construction and design. He has
figured in more races than the table
Of summaries shows, for as pit man
ager and speed strategist he is con-
sidered without an equal and his
brains have been responsible for more
then one winner leading the field
across the wire in blue-ribbon events.
A Dark Horse
Before this season. Aitken was not
regarded as of championship caliber,
although he made his debut at the
wheel Of National on the dirt tracks
10 years ago and had participated in
several classics He first gained
prominence on the gasoline circuit i'm
1909 when he established a worlds
l00-mile record at indianapolis. The
next year was his best until he flashed
to the front this season as a chal-
lenger Of Resta for supremacy in
comeback role. In 1910 he took third
in the last Vanderbilt to be run on
Long Island, crossing the wire only
20 seconds after Harry Grant, the vic
tor, had received the checkered flag,
and finished first in the 301-450 class
event and fourth in the Philadelphia
cup contest held in connection with
the Fairmodnt Park meet of that year.
These were Athens achievements
on the road In 1910, In speedway com.
petition. he was even more success.
ful. He captured the Atlanta trophy
in 200-mile race that was run in a
driving rainstorm and out of 3S starts
on the improved courses at Indianapo-
lis, Atlanta and Los Angeles, scored
IL firsts, five seconds and nine
thirds, being ranked next to Ray Har-
roun, the speedway champion of that
year, on the seasons showing. =. -,
After failing to finish in the In
International sweepstakes
and the Elgin trophy race of 1911,
Aitken was made a secrifice to Hy.
men In the spring of 1912, the rule
that no married man should drive for
the, National company barring him
from participation as pilot but Civ.
ing him an opportunity to gain fame