The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-05-29
DURAY'S SPEED BURST
STANDS AS RECORD
Noted Personages Here to
Witness Worlds Greatest
Motor Classic - Bricks
Cool and Experts Predict
New Mark.
BY Blythe Q. Hendricks
BY Blythe Q. Hendricks

First serious accident at the
Speedway this year occurred to-
day when L. L. Corum crashed
into the wall-in one of Ralph
De Palma's cars which he was
to drive in the 500-mile race
Saturday.
Corum was not hurt. The car
will be out of the race.
News OF the accident provided an
advance thrill for the throngs
arriving early for the race.
The accident occurred shortly be-
forefore noon at the first turn.
Corum was driving at better than
100 miles an hour when his car. De
Palma's "Bobtail" Miller Special.
skidded and turned completely
around. stradling the inside retaining
wall.
Astraddle the wall, the car slid
backwards 800 feet and came to a
stop.
While preparing for the Speedway
race several years ago Corum, in d
Frontenac, skidded at the same spot
and was forced out. Corum was
joint winner in 1924 with Joe Boyer
He drove the car in which Boyer
won the race for over 100 laps.
Corum will drive the car De Palma
was scheduled to start In the race
as result Of the accident. De Palma
will pilot the front.wheel drive MIL
ler which Benny Hill was to pilot.
Hill will be at the wheel OF his
Miller Special Ray Carrens was to
drive.
Annual invasion Of the city by
race fans was on in full force. Early
today constantly increasing lines OF
automobiles began to pour into the
city. From ali corners OF the State
came reports Of roads crowded al
most to capacity with Indianapolis.
bound motorists. Railroads also
brought In their quota of visitors.
and by Saturday morning the trac.
ton and motor bus lines will be
crowded.
All day long the cars streamed
into town-big, powerful sedans
spattered with the dust of Texas
and Oklahoma, frislSy f1ivvers scam.
pering in from States along the
Atlantic coast. here and there a
sporty roadster breeding in from a
winter in Florida. battered busses
from the Pacific slope. in fact. cars
Of every kind and description from
almost every State In the Union.
Hotel Hobbies filled early in the
day and 1t was easy to tell in the
benevolent smiles Of self-satisfaction
the guests who had been wise
enough to make their reservations
months in advance. The late ar
rivals rushed madly about trying
to find some place to sleep for the
night.
Same Old Scenes
At the Speedway ticket office the
same old scenes were re-enacted.
Visitors utterly dumbfounded to
learn that the day before the race
1t would be impossible to obtain
front-row seats in grand stand A.
or choice parking space behind the
pits.
Out at the track again it was
the same old story. Drivers and
mechanics OF cars already qualified
working steadily, confidently, put
ting the finishing tuning UP
touches on their mounts; crews OF
stubborn busses which refuse to
function properly and must make
their qualifying laps today, work
ing madly in desperate efforts to get
their cars to the line.
With twenty-three carc already
qualified and four more possible, IL
not probable starters, to try today,
indications are the starting field will
consist Of twenty-four or twenty-five
cars when Seth Klein. official
starter. gives the contestants the
flag that will send them on the long
500.mile grind at 10 a. m. Saturday.
Cloudy and cool weather today will
almost certainly mean new record
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