Evening star., 1926-06-13

There are two atechnlQueS III TINS
business of forcing an automobile to
its greatest speed-one for the dirt,
another for the board track. The
most picturesque, fans agree. is that
which combines the mechanical facil-
ity of the latter with the daredevil
courage of the former.
Willing to Take Chance.
Those who will compete at Laurel
are of this Undergraduates of the dirt
track who will bring to the contests
all the qualities of resourcefulness
and courage that are born of the ter
restrial circle. where the littest are
the ones who survive.
When Frank Lockhart won the In
dianapolis race on Memorial day the
thousands who saw the event were
impressed by one feature of his driV
ing more than all others-his willing
ness to take a chance. Lockhart was
fresh from the clay circles of the
West. He was making his debut on
the hard track against such demons
of speed as De Paola, Hartz, McDon-
ough and others with names of equal
luster. Young Mr.. Lockhart wasn't
deferred. After a few hours on the
the track tuning MP his machine. sew
eral days before the race, he opened
the throttle and spun off the fastest
lap that ever has been recorded on
the indianapolis track. averaging
more than 115 miles an hour. His
performance gave many a thrill to
the veterans who were looking on.
This might have been a flash in
the pan. an achievement soon to be
forgotten, had not Lockhart come
hack on the following Monday to
prove It no fiuke by leaving in the
rIlc6 the men who knew every brick"
in the Hoosier loop.
Stars to Ec Seen.
Local race followers will see Lock
hart s prototypes at Laurel when
Jimmy Gleason. Al Aspen, Russell
Snowberger. Lou Fink, Ray keech
and others of the National. drivers
roar away from the starring line.
A ma ajorty of those mentioned are
veterans Of both types of speedway.
but have been absent recently from
the boards. Gleason has record break,
ing achievements on both tracks. He
has been signally successful at In
dianapolis and other big tracks and
has pronounced the Laurel bowl the
best upon which he has driven.
Driving a car that was tuned for
the dirt" he has circled Laurel in
nearly record time and gave oniook-
eI's. veterans OF speed. some breath
taking moments as he rode the outer
rim Of the track. That Gleason leans
to speed slightly more than to safety
is to be found in his reply to the me-
chanic who examined the car before
he started his flying journey and
recommended the steering be tight
ened
To this suggestion Gleason replied:
You can do that when it gets too
dark 10 drive.
Aspen. who took the car for spin
Immediately after Gleason had finish
cd. likewise preferred to ride while
] can"
This is the spirit of the dirt" It
makes for an afternoon of surprising
entertainment for those who like to
see competition that Is intensely hui
man as we'll as mechanicals
The y. NJ. r. A. drivers are a pic
turesque lot. They are a hard-driV-
ing, hard-Working, enthusiastic CO.
terie of speed demons. who love the
sport for all the thrills it is worth.
Many varying personalities comprise
the group of drivers who will buckle
down to hard work early this week
TO stage their defiance of death at the
week end.
The man they hail as 1925 cham
pion. Russell Snowberger, is a quiet,
fearless and thoroughly modest dew