Arizona republican., 1920-11-14
IKA IS VAIL WINS 1OO-MILE TRACK
 EVENT M AT STATE FAIR GROUNDS; SlM THOMAS TRI-STATE CHAMPION

AVAA AAJ kAk~A 5.,.I van. worlds dirt track chamnion fn tLa ms title against a classy field first'ce .oV mile reef all on the atf .h two-day speedway program the state fair grounds vesterda,, 5,,,, ,.ss.u noon, drove the entire distance
 nout stop and took the 1ion's stsao pr the S4,000 purse offered bv the ".o Ialr commission Eddie Hearne srna Stutz was second and Tommy -tleon Tn Rowes Dusenberg. third so t,me for the distance was l hour. ,,,...es nilutes and 20 3-5 seconds. six n.ilutes slower than the worlds record TOT the distance but exceptionanv fast SVnsioerlng the condition of the track.
 ne battle for dirt track suprem- aSy VIII be renewed at the fair grounds hnis a1ternoon when the same cars ana drivers win compete in a serios tour races. Track conditions will ue Iuliy 100 per cent better than yes- te.uay, race officials declared. and rsiNers nave promised to smash at least one worlds mark.
 Jimmy Thomas of Phoenix. one of me semi professional drivers of the Southwest won the Fri State cham Lonship at 50 miles in Messner's %nandler Special. outdriving his eecond.
 1t took Ira Vail just three miles to dispose of a field of six starters in ne final race of the day, the Austral- lan pursuit dash and scheduled to go -S miles Jimmy Thomas in the Chand- Ter Special was the last to submit to The greater speed and driving exper- lence of the customer.
 Accidents Give Thrills
 Two spectacular accidents. in which one car was practically demolished. added thrills to an otherwise thrilling afternoons entertainment.
 In the first event, the 100-mile free for-all l.. R. Thomas. driving Overland No ?. skidded badly on the south turn on his sixth lap, turned completely around. finally coming to a stop with his car completely off the track. The car remained upright, however. and Thomas was able to continue a few seconds later. although losing much valuable time.
 Later in the day, Ernest Bennett and his mechanician had narrow es- capes from death when BennettS s powerful Marmon, known as the Ben nett Special and numbered 23, went through the fence on the back stretch. This accident took place in the Tri- State championship, Bennett being in seond place at the time and driving hard after Jimmy Thomas, the leader, less than 100 yards behind. The car swerved on the south turn, due to the soft surface. and Bennett was unable 10 right her on the straight away. He finally skidded sideways and plunged in the fence directly opposite the grandstand. A hush fell over the null titude of spectators, but when an nouncement was made a few seconds later that both Bennett and his assist ant had escaped injury prolonged cheer went up from the grandstand. The car was badly damaged.
 Biz Event We'll Contested
 Tine big event of the day was as pretty a contested race as has ever been witnessed in the Southwest. A field of nine cars made the going suf- ficicntiy hazardous on the dusty track 10 keep the crowd, estimated at 10000, on it's toes throughout. Several times during the race the drivers would go into the turn, made exceptionally dan gerolis by loose earth. banked four deep while the crowd held its breath. At times 1t seemed certain that some of the cars would lock wheels, only to have the drivers maneuver their speeding machines out of the difficulty
 Eddie Hearne. driving Stutz Special No 8, jumped into the lead on the first lap with Tommy Milton in Rowe's Dusenberg Special second and Ira Val in his Philbrin- -Dusenberg third. They held this position for six laps, wher Vail passed Milton. The remainder oi the field was stretched out for three quarters of a mile.
 Hearne showed a world of speed during the first 40 miles and was lead ing Vail, second, by more than a quar. ter of a mile whenIsa stepped on her and started after the leader. Tn, next ten miles developed the pretties racing ever witnessed on the state fai grounds. Vail gradually creeping up ol Hearne until his front wheels were al most touching Eddie's on the fiftietl @p. Going into the south turn on tn fiftieth mile it looked as if the car would collide, but Vail shut off i time to avoid the smash. Two othe cars were also banked on the turn a fhis time.
 Leaders Fight For First Place
 On the next lap Vail forged ahead cutting inside Hearne on the sout turn. Vail gained steadily on Hearn for the next 20 laps. when Hearn started out after him. Jim Crosby i the meantime had been, forced froI the race with his Hudson Special be cause of engine trouble. Ernest Ben nett also had taken to the pits for new tire. but was back in the runnin after losing a lap.
 On the eightieth lap Hearne opene her wide and crawled up to within couple of lengths of Vail, when he ws forced to the pit on the S5th lap b, cause of a broken valve. The damas