Evening star., 1925-06-28

drivers pit may not wait for the blow.
| out which may end much more dis.
| astrously than merely in the loss of
time. When a tire is noticed to be
wearing signal is wigwagged to the
| driver to come to the pit on the next
lap.
| Skidding may furnish a few thrills
for the thousands of spectators who
| follow the cars breathlessly around
| the track. Racing cars have been
| known to skid and turn entirely
| around in position to continue on the
courss>
Then there is the occasional unfore-
| seen mishap. It's cause may be skid
ding. a blowout, engine trouble, driv-
| ing too close to the edge Of the track,
| misjudgment on the part of the driver
and countless other factors which con-
stitute the unexpected. It is the acci-
dent, when the racer goes hurtling off
the track that produces the greatest
| thrill, needless to say. Call it the blood
lust, cau 1t the enthusiasm of the
sports follower, or call it what you
will the occasional mishap has lent
glamour to motor racing that cannot
be gainsaid.
Checking Seen as Difficult Task.
Cne of the most difficult tasks
!
the cars as they cover the course. For
| a field of 18 or 20 cars there are six
| checkers, whose duty it Is to see to it
that each driver covers every lap
needed to complete the race and is Of
f1cially credited with all the ground he
has covered. If driver does not get
the place he thinks he is entitled to
there Is a protest, and his own checker.
stationed in that particular drivers
pit. comes forward with evidence to
show the correct position at a given
time. Timing a race and starting 1t
are callings in themselves. Timers and
starters usually do nothing else but
perform these duties at the big auto
mobile races.
The championship races are run
| under the rules laid down by the
| contest board of the American Au-
| tomobile Association. These regu-
late every phase Of the race, from
| the qualifying of the drivers to the
| prizes to be awarded. The contest
board rules, for instance. that prize
| money shall be 500 guaranteed for
! every mile in the race. A mile
feature, therefore. requires prizes
totaling $4,000. A certain number
of points toward the years cham
| pionship is awarded for each posi-
tlOn IN every championship race run
during the year.
No other sport draws greater
| crowds than automobile racing. The
throng that witnessed the Indianap-
oils classic this year reached nearly
10000 persons and totaled about 49,
900 more than the number who saw it
in 1924. Officials at that track say
that a week after this years race
two entire grandstands were re-
served for the 1926 event. 1t dem
onstrates better than words can In
dicate the lure of the game for the
thousands who witness the races.
From a business point Of view, the
automobile championship races have
their pronounced benefits to the
neighborhood in which they are held
1t is estimated that the latest Indi-
annapolis race means an expenditure
by the fans of $4,000, 900 in that city
and nearby territory. Hotels are
packed, eating places are mobbed
and every other line of business has
its demand in varying degrees.
What is it that allures the myriads
Of followers of auto racing? What
ever the answer. assured 1t is that
while horse racing has been termed
the sport of kings, motor racing may
we'll be called the sport of all who
love a thrill. Such is provided by
those heroes of the rumbling motors
who defy death at every lap of the
track.