The sun., 1919-09-21
RACING SUCCESS
DEPENDS ON TIRES
Goodyear's Record This Year
a Remarkable One.

Next to the big racing cars and their
drivers, interest in big automobile race
like the one at Sheepshead Bay yester-
day centres largely in the tires that
make the terrific speeds Of the race
course possible.
A defective tire may easily cost the
race. or even a life so the big drivers
select their tires with great care, Their
racing experience has taught them much
about tires, and II Is a combination OF
this tire lore acquired by the big drivers.
together with the research of the tire
engineers. that has made possible racing
tires that can maintain speeds OF better
than 100 miles an hour.
In the early days automobile races
were necessarily short because tires had
not been developed that would stand up
for long distances. And their cars had
not reached anything like their present
state of development.
But now cars and tires have been de-
veloped that stand up for. hundreds of
miles in long races. For instance in tn.
big 500 mile race at Indianapolis last
spring sixteen Goodyear cord tires
travelled the entire course of the race
without requiring any attention.
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Com
pany's victories in the present season
have been remarkable. Every important
race of the 1919 season has been won by
cars wearing Goodyear tires. Starting
with the speed trials OF Ralph Dc Palma
In his Packard at Daytona Beach, where
he attained a speed of $50 miles an hour
for one mile, and continuing through the
races at Santa Monica, Tacoma. Union
town, Elgin and Sheepshead Bay. Good
year tires have greatly added to the
many iaurels they had already won In
fast company.
Contrary to the common impression.
tires seldom blow" in a race. Almost
Invariably when a driver comes into the
pits with. fiat tire tube has been
pinched or a splinter picked up from
the track has punctured II.
One OF the chief duties Of the driver
mechanician in a race is 70 watch the
tires, watching the tread as 1t wears
down. BY reason OF his watchfulness
any abnormal wear is detected. and II
tread comes off and the inner plies
of cords begin to wear through. the
driver stops at the pits for a tire
change.
Tire changes in automobile races,
however. are becoming fewer and fewer.
In fact every race won on the Sleeps
head Bay track this season has been a
nonstop run.
1t is we'll known by the public that the
cars used in racing are special cars.
built for speed, and 1t is but natural to
ask whether the tires used in racing are
special tires.
The goodyear tires used on the race,
track are no different from the regular
tires used by motorists except that the
treads are thinner. The materials and
method of construction are the same.
In a race where a speed of 100 miles an
hour is attained the rreads of ordinary
tires would be thrown from the body of
the tires by the terrific centrifugal force,
SO the threads on racing tires for board
tracks are made thinner to make them
as light as Is consistent with safety.
The old clincher principle of holding
tires to the rim has now been largely
discarded. The big drivers using Good
year tires-and this includes all of the
well known onee-are now driving on
straight side tires. They are faster and
tube pinching is largely eliminated.