Evening star., 1925-07-05
Lives of Racing Driuers Show
Rise From Mechanics Ranks
While Some of Famous Speed Kings
Stepped Into Pilots Seat Most
Serped Long Apprenticeships.

Ton speedway near Laurel IN the
opening classic, July Il, reveal a
progress usually from the ranks to
the forefront of the pastime of thrills.
International renown came to some
within a few years. Others served a
long apprenticeship before taking the
pilots seat and then had to complete
a gruelling grind in more than one
speed classic before winning the
laurels of the victor of he race ovals.
While a few drivers have entered
the speedy sport with wealth and the
supreme desire to experience the keen
thrill of flashing around a race track
at speed well over 100 miles an
hour, others came into it as penniless
mechanics. The love for the racing
game has kept them at the wheel
year after year.
Most Begin As Mechanics.
The usual course followed by the
racing drivers who will hold the at.
tention at the Laurel initial event.
has been the gain the pilots seat
through the apprenticeship of me-
chanic. The man who gets the tiny
cars into shipshape for the champion
ship races is the one who must know
automobiles as no one else can know
them. The car that is going TO dash
TO a speed of miles a minute or more
NdIi LIOlu ilO llNStelLtS LOT MN. II II
did. disaster, injury perhaps death,
would almost certainly lurk ahead for
the driver he serves. 1t is for this
reason that the mechanic for the auto
racing stable" serves the most com
plete apprenticeship any one could
serve for participation in the sport
itself.
AS the mechanic grooms the cars
for their gruelling test on the speed
he ,.iI ch hai
performance in the race. Watching a
race can be no less thrilling for the
mechanic than for any other spec
tator. II is only a natural step from
neutrality-suspicious. TO pilot.
Some Rode With Drivers.
There are some few drivers who
have served as riding partner and
have sat beside the racing stars they
served during the course of the race.
When the practice of carrying a me-
chanic in the car was followed the
latter was the eyes of the driver.
This, however, has been discontinued,
and in the future the driver will have
TO be graduated without this additional
apprenticeship.
Peter De PaoIo, the newest sensa-
ton in the motor racing profession.
IS also one of the youngest drivers,
being just 27 years old. He achieved
fame early this season by winning the
150-mile race at Fresno and later
climbed TO the place of the leading
claimant to the 1925 championship
when he captured the coveted check
cred flag al the Indianapolis classic
which netted him the S38,000 sweep
stake purse. In that flashing event
he drove his Duesenberg car, which
he Will pilot again on Saturday.
De Paolo is a nephew of Ralph
De Palma, veteran of Is years on
the race tracks. who virtually has
retired from the racing game De Pa
olo got the craze to take up racing
from watching the many victories of
his uncle, and, in fact, learned to
drive riding as a mechanic for his
famous relative
De Paolo is short and slight of build
and wears an ever-ready smile. Last
year was his first venture and he
finished twelfth in the race for the
title He is married and lives in
Los Angeles when away from the
tracks. His wife and 2-year-old son
always are in the stands when
De Paolo performs.
Milton Began on Dirt.
Tommy Milton, known as fear.
less driver of fast cars, is the present
holder Of the world record for the
A.Op-4llAIS ull OIl d DOdIu lIdCR-IZ0 800
miles an hour-and holder of the 1921
world championship. He is the best
known racing pilot in the game and
has set up numerous records, the
most notable achievement being 1854
miles an hour for one lap, a mark
that has stood unequalled for several
years. He is the only driver who
has won the Indianapolis classic
twice.
He got his start as a dirt track
pilot, driving a car of his own crea-
ton. He also rode a motor cycle in
one of his earliest contests at AL
toona. His first big victory in the
races under the A. a. a. came in 1921
at San Carlos. Following his first
triumph at Indianapolis, he estab-
lished new record at Syracuse for
a 100-mile dirt track.
Milton is married and has a son.
His family resides at Beverly Hills
calf, where he owns considerable
property.
Earl Cooper's return to the tracks
In 1922. after he had retired with
many titles and high records to his
honor. was as spectacular as might
be found in racing fiction He staged
his comeback in the dedication of the
Kansas City track in 1922 by jumping
into the machine of Joe Thomas.
when the latter was stricken with
appendicitis, driving to a fourth place
finish, and has been behind the wheel
ever since.
Cooper started his long career back
IN 1908, plotting a Cadillac. He is
now 43 years old, is married, and lives
In Los Angeles. He has been promi.
nent as a racer for more than IS
Years, being one of the stars back in
the days of Barney Oldfeld, Dario
FIESTA and others who now belong to
racing history. Cooper was the
American speed king in 1913, and
again in 1918. In 1914 he won the
national road race title
BY capturing eight consecutive vic
tories, driving an II. G. S. Special.
Cooper gained international fame in
1913. He has the popularity of being
unable to drive fast-as racers drive
until other racers are crowding him
He is crafty, tricky, and pulls many
surprises. He is a studious mechan-
fcian, keeping charts and notes on
the performance of his machine.
Harz Began OH Bicycle.
Harry HartZ, who has been racing
only since 1921, has won many events
ana lost many more through unfortu-
nate breaks. In his four years as a
pilot he has established himself as a
careful driver, content to place rather
than gamble for victors stakes with
possible loss of all. He always has
ranked high. however, for the world
championship in the final scoring of
the contest board of the A A A.
Hartz drove his first machine at the
Beverly Hills track, in Los Angeles, in
1921, when he travelled at a speed of
116 miles an hour. He is the only
driver to take second place in two
events at the Indianapolis races. Hartz
II