New-York tribune., 1918-06-02
Friction From Broken Rod
lgnites Resta's S Flying
Auto
By Louis Lee Arms


finish line winner in the 1OO-mile
Hardness Handicap yesterday after
noon on the board track speedway at
Sheepshead Bay. That picturesque
patriarch of the motor game, Barney
oldheld, was second; the Brooklyn kid,
Ira Vail, third, and Ralph de Palma, the
popular choice, fourth.
De Palma issued a protest last night
against the official report of the result
OF the race. He claimed he won second
place and that the scorers had failed to
count one of his laps.
Fifty thousand motor fans saw Mil
ton sweep down the straightaways and
careen over the uptilted extremities of
the track, until at the end of 58 min
utes and 81 seconds he had completed
the century dash, at an average pace of
LUZ miles an hour. This was eight
miles slower to the hour than Louis
Chevrolet's triumphal drive in 1917. but
what yesterdays race lacked in speed
1t more than atoned for in the quality
OF superb competition and spectacular
condiment. Oldfeld's time was 50 min.
utes IA 1-5 seconds, and Wallis. SO min
utes and 20 seconds.
Darlo Resta, the noted English driver.
and one of the favorites to win. drove
into his pit at the conclusion of the
1orty-second mile with his car in
names. A broken connecting rod had
iald his crank case open. and the ire
mendous friction igpited the oil and
grease on his engine. The sheet of
lame was quickly extinguished by pit
attendants. Louis Chevrolet. driving at
scratch, was forced to make three sfons
ior tire changes and fell hopelessIv
back into the field.
Vail Loses at Finish
Ira Vail, driving a Hudson snners;x
and with second money seeminelv
tucked in his pocket-blew a tira ;nto
shower Of shreds on his penultimate
zap as ne whisked along the stretch. and
wnile his Brooklyn followers wept. Vail
limped about the course, stopped for a
hew ne S shoe and saw Barney Oldfeld and
ms Golden Submarine" minus its
s.opuiar yellow tail, shoot into second
Behind Oldfield was de Palma
creamy streak against the prav HIa, hsrt q
ground of the board track, reachine
avldly for third money. But Vail. in
desperate finish, doomed over the
track Tor the final lap and took third,
with de Palma and the Chicago amatenr
EDDIE Hearne, behind him.
:, Ralph Mulford, another favor;te
threw two tires and abandoned the race
wnen his engine began coughing ir-
regularly. Omar Toft, the Pacific
toase champion, and "Red Flash" Fet-
J;t;, JIG;tman, OF Pittsburgh, contributed ad-
hh,''ohal ~, thrills to the gruelling grind
terman slid roo yards into his nit with
ms brakes locked and his car culver
ing and threatening to turn turtle at
every yard. 80
Milton's First Big Victory
The victory of Milton in the most
emuigent emu, OF American speedway fix
lures marks the dissolution of the
Glrlvlng dynasty that has dominated
art tracks, the road and the speedway
ana lnducts new and victorious blood
IN lnto the modern racing game. Pre-
vlous TO his victory yesterday, Milton
mad won no race of Importance, but
mad followed at the heels of some of
the better known drivers in events at
Uniontown, Cincinnati, Providence and
Chicago. ""0
Yesterday he led every inch of the
way for 100 miles and drove a master
lul race IN that he sustained the ire
m mendous pace of almost two miles to |
me minute, and yet failed to be led |
INTO any one of the multiform trans |
that were set for him, to let himself |
become more than momentarily "boxed"
or TO take chance of burning I'M his |
motor with an unnecessary or nrems-
ture sprint.
The cunning De Palma in the middle
stages OF the race picked Milton az the
man ne must beat to win, and he hung
at Mii'on's wheels for miles at a
stretch teasingly drove ahead of him
in an effort to draw Milton into a mad
ana ana costly sprint-all to no avail. The
oiivef-tlnted Duesenberg. rejecting tn,
3un rays In dozen golden shafts
drummed on and on, steadily and nm.
of the drivers who were gun
g ning Tor It with the nimblest driving
wits In America. Millions victory was
" me mere glorious because nothing of
Fne nuke order contributed to his win
nlng margin. 1t demarked, rather. the
actual superiority of driver and man
as they swung boldly through a broken
held yesterday.
Veterans Furnish Thrills
With the enforced retirement of
sesta and Mulford the speed fanatics
ooked to Chevrolet and De Palma to
urnish the paramount thrills and the
.reatest speed, and they were re-
varded by seeing some of the cleverest
'rushs between these two drivers that
ver have been executed on the Hark-
less speedway
Starting one minute and one second
head of Chevrolet, De Palma made a
aad effort to lap the Gallo driver at
ne beginning and thus establish
winning margin that might assist him
we're he to run nto some of the i'll
ack that attended his driving in this
ame event last year, when he blew a
alf dozen tires and was hopelessly
apped by his sophisticated enemy.
De Palma's cream colored Packard.
Is aero motor of twelve cylinders
umming like horde of bees, dashed
I terrific pace about the long, wood
overed oval and the Italian had passed
ne halfway mark when Starter Wag-
er gave Chevrolet the starting flag
he Frenchman started easily and
rawled rather leisurely to the top of
ne bank as De Palma was coming at
NO miles minute, swept down the s
tretch in frenzied pursuit. I
Prettiest Duel of Day
Chevrolet was smiling erimly as he
assed the stands on his first lap and
'e Palma had crawled up to within =