New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-08-18
De Palma Has Monopoly of
Victory, but Manages to
Entertain Throng
By Louis Lee Arms

Since Ralph De Palma, the lustrous
Italian driver, won all five races yes
terday afternoon at Sheepshead Bay.
it is probably best to admit it right
now, instead of postponing credit and
misdirecting the praise toward Tommy
Milton, or somebody else, as all of our
famous men about town did at the last
Speedway meeting.
There was really nothing to It.
Speedway racing of the current vint-
age smacks Of the Hippodrome. and we
expect that, but yesterday it was lift
ed from puppets show on wheels TO
hieh-class exhibition, through the fact
that De Palma won all five races and
created four new American speedway
records in doing SO.
Might Have Done Better
The Italian might have done better.
There WAS no time in any race that he
could not have stepped abruptly away
from his field end left it weeping in
his wake. But the chivarous Mr.. De
Palma preferred TO jockey here and
there over this race and that, reserv-
ing his explosive fireworks and his
speed bursts for the final lap or laps,
with the result that ne only broke rec
ord by mere minutes and seconds,
when he might have beaten them by,
we'll, say hours.
In the order in which the records
were broken they were:
Won the two-mile race in 1905: so,
as against Dario Resta's old mark Of
1:12:S5, $50 made at the Sheepshead
Bay Speedway.
Won the l0-mile race In 5:23:8O,
beating his OWE mark Of 5:24;28, made
last July in Chicago.
Won the Bonnie race in 1s:s1:2o.
breaking Johnny Athens record of
Won the 50-mie race in 27:29:O1,
breaking Daro Restas mark Of
2S: o. :63, made over the same speed
way.
That was all. Through bit Of re-
grettable loafing-or the effulgent Mr.
De Palma may have been interested in
the aerial exhibition overhead-the
Italian did not break the 2O-mile
American speedway record which Writ
ually got down on its knees and
begged him TO crack it on the prog
nathous Jaw.
But, instead, De Palma let Resta and
Milford alternate IN setting the pace
occasionally flashing to the front on
the far back turn (Which is in good
position from spectatoria view
polnt) or in front of the grandstand
(where the cheers Of the customers
may be heard even above the thun-
derous confusion of the motors). but
latterly he always fell back until the
final lap arrived, whereat the Italian
stepped on it," as the saying in our
best motor society goes, and simply
walked away from the field.
Far be it from us to deprive of any
pleasure those people who thought
they were seeing genuine race The
trouble with yesterdays event was that
it was at no time race but was con-
genitally and by instinct a process on,
and should never have been anything
else, save that De Palma recognizes
the value of entertaining the speed
way clientele and thus manufactured
competition when there was actually
none.
Louis Chevrolet, the old, gray wiz
ard of the wheel, came II cropper right
at the start. In the first race of one
short lap he busted connecting rod
on his patriarchal Frontenac and was
out Of the going before the drivers
reached the mile post on the back
stretch.
This 10 the same Frontenac that won