The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-06-01
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A NEW SPEEDER
By VEDDER GARD

= of Lockhart made his ~ap-
pearance at the Speedway for the
first time. Just to get used to the
track he brought out a big 1855
inch job that he had been using III
dirt track races.
Who's that?" every one said as
the car whizzed by. NOBODY
seemed much impressed by the
youth, unknown in these parts,
who seemed to like to travel fast.
"Why shouldn't he go fast in
that big carr" the railbirds said.
But this Lockhart was likable
sort of a young fellow-a quiet
chap who never said much and
was always anxious for the
opinion of veteran drivers, and
he made many friends by his at
titude.
Finally he was selected as
relief driver for Bonnie Hill and
Bennie let him take his car out
for several spins, but Hill was
rather nervous on several oc-
casions when Frank failed to OBJ
serve suitable decorum in some
body eIse's car and hit the turns
with seeming recklessness.
Then came a turn in the tide of
Lockhart's fortune. Seeing such
intrepid young gentleman with
such O. heavy foot and such
beautiful touch on the steering
wheel, Dame Fortune smiled and
Lockhart obtained a mount OF his
own. when Pete Kreis was taken
ill with the flu and could not drive
his car.
Then LocIhart, just in time,
learned some lessons that he did
not forget on the day of the big
race. In the time trials the
Coast speeder amazed the large
crowd which came out to witness
the elinlinations on last Thurs
day by setting a new track rec
ord for. the Speedway OF 115.408
miles an hour.
He hit the turns with such.
fervor that the tires could not
stand the strain and he was forced
to come in with one back tire cut
to ribbons. One Of his three
chances to qualify was gone. On
f. tho 61V
engine trouble developed and he
only had one opportunity left. On
his third trial, late Saturday, he
was content with a 95.78 average
and qualified.
He had learned more about the
Indianapolis bricks and their
effects on tires and he had learned
more about the new motor and
Just what it could stand. Monday
he did not forget those lessons.
AS far as handling a car is
concerned, it is unlikely that
anyone can teach young Frank
very much. His is the touch of
geI1ius-a gift of the gods.
AH&
The new 911A motors leaked
plenty of oil, which combined with
the drilling rain made the track
extremely slippery and dangerous
on the turns. The drivers were
forced. to be careful although it
went against the grain for some
of them. 1t would have been a
fine day for the front-drives If
they had stood up because they
hold the curves better than the
conventional type.
The average time Of the race
was much slower than that of
1925. Such is always the case
when new motors are being tried
for the first time. They will be
ready to break more records next
year. Experience, after all, is the
best teacher, although a stern
one. OF course, the slick track
had something to do with cutting
down the speed.
The crowd at the Speedway
was estimated by the manage
ment at $4,000. Anyway, there
were plenty of folks on hand to
see the big annual event.
me Of the first ten were
I'M Miller motored gas buggies.
At that Fred Duesenberg
had the best average. He had
two cars in the race and one of
them, De Paolo's car, finished
fifth. The two-cycle car was more
or less Of an experiment. De
Paolo appears to have a good boat
and = he probably will win some
races with it after getting it adj
justed and Broken in"
L