Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-29
ACE OF ACES
TELLS OF The
BENEFITS OF
AUTO RACES
Eddie RiCkenbaCker Declares
Sweepstakes Teach Makers
How to Safeguard Car
Users.

Indianapolis, june Io'-\SpeCldl
Capt. Z. V. Rlckenbacker, Amen
can "Ace of Aces" and one of tn.
worlds premier racing drivers be-
fore he forsoo'. the speed sport for
the realm Of the sky. contrad:cts
tine opinion, recently advanced in
some quarters. that automobile lac
ing serves no useful purpose, ard
that consequ. entity it ought to be
abolished, to avoid the recurrnce Of
such events as marred the Liberty
Sweepstakes race, May 81.
1T is with good deal of le-
greet" says Captain Rickenbacker.
that l note the adverse sentiment
current in some sections against at
tomobile racing, as the result of the
three fatalities that happened dur
irg the indianapolis 500-mile Lib
erty Sweepstakes race at Ind;ar.
apclls, at which | oficiated as RET
cree. The death of any man IS
sad thing, with many pathetic con-
sequences in Its wake, and If II
served no other purpose than to
make Roman holiday, as has been
charged with reference to autorlo-
lille racing. it would indeed be in
excusable.
Now, it so happens thatp rior 70
entering the United States air serv-
ice l was identified with automoo;lc
racing for a good many years, aud
consequently ar more familiar th1l
is the average individual with the
useful, and l may say right now, III
dHpensable role played by the
sport in the development of auto
motive design, engineering aud
metallurgical discovery, as applied
both to the automobile and the air.
plane. Sop and consider that con-
test such as an Indianapolis sou.
mile race tests every part of a mo.
tor cars mechanism more severely
than two years or ordinary usage,
ard you will get an idea of how
racing has sDeeded up engineering
progress.
I'm the last Liberty Sweepstakes
race every accident but one was
was due to defective wheels, wheels
that apparently were sound. but un-
Ger the crucial strain of sustained
high speed revealed themselves IS
their true light. The same whce.s
would have gwen good service u'l-
Ger ordinary touring conditions for
ore or two years. perhaps, and then
suddenly crashed, to the wiping out
possibly of an entire family, as has
often happened in touring acci-
derts.
The discoveries of the last In
dianapolis race will enable wheel,
manufacturers to improve ttcif
product SO that occurrences suck as
those which produced fatalities dur
ing the contest will be Impossible
on the open road Who shall say
then. in view of this fact, that the
Liberty Sweepstakes race did rot
serve useful purpose?
ANY one who drives an automo-
bile has often reflected upon what
would happen if his steering ap-
paratus would break, leaving him
helpless at the wheel of an uncon-
trollable car, and great has been
the wonder that this delicate con-
trivance rarely gives any trouble.
AS matter of fact, the perfection
OF steering mechanism is one of the
chief contributions of automobile
racing to the safety of motoring.
Designs that were thought good en-
gineerlng practice were quickly
shown to be most dangerous wien
subjected to the test of extreme
speed and consequently discarded
before they had opportunity to wc-k
mischief in the field of every day
use.
Also don't forget that racing
calls into play the keenist engineer
ing minds in a constant struggle
to produce more horse power, more
energy, with less weight-an endless
reaching out into new fields for the
purpose of increasing efficiency and
economy in gasoline consumption.
10 increase engine efficiency new
types of valve action have been n
vented, different cylinder arrange
ments have been tried, all kinds of
manifolds built, every piece gone
over with view to possible inl-
provement, while the endeavor -
reduce weight has proved a stirnu-
lus to the metallurgical arts, result
ing in the invention of steels of un-
heard of lightness, combined with
surprising strength.
The new, light weight car of the
future, comfort and roominess with
low opening cost, both as regards
gasoline and tires, will owe its ex-
istence more to racing than any
other factor.
"And looking back for a moment
to the recent days of war, what do
you suppose would have been the
position of allied aircraft manufac-
turers but for the experience OF rae
ing! Every engine that went into
an allied alrplane, from the English
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