The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-05-19
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Observation-Disclosures
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AZ THE SPEEDWAY

~HE other day Cooper was
talking about getting a
higher seat cushion for his
car. at least an inch and
half higher" said Earl land may
be I'll try out springs instead OF
the regular stuffing.'
Maybe the driver had Fremont
ton that he was to play leap-frog
with the inner fence. Those bricks
are bumpy enough without hopping
the lower rG!l
We arrived on the scene imme-
diately after Cooper's accident
Tuesday and the pilot was as cool
as the proverbial cucumber. Not
all the steel is used i'm the con
struction of the cars. The most
highly tempered steel will be found
in the nerves Of the men at the
wheel.
It was Wild ride that Cooper
took. The arm of the steering
rod came off on the southeast
turn, "Blunber" Boyle mechanic,
found the part on the track at
that point. Earl had no control
at all of the auto, which careened
crafty at the turn, humping the
outer concrete wall until it
stopped far down the back stretch
with the left front wheel astraddle
the inner rail.
One would hardly know what
nationality TO call John Duff, who
is TO drive the Elcar Special. lie
was born of Canadian parents
in China and has lived in the
Far East, Russia. Canada and
Europe. He has raced in Europe
for many years. His present
home is England.
He admits the superiority of
the American cars of today for
the speedway type of racing, but
says the Yankee cars would not
be suitable for the European
road events.
When asked what he thought
of the local track. he said. in typ
icaI British manner: ut shakes
you up. 1t will take a bit of
driving"
HE cars are geared differ
entity for the bricks than
for the boards. The gear
is approximately IA to for the
local track and 6.10 to / for the
board speedways. ON the saucer
ovals the cars can he opened up
as sheer speed is needed. At the
Indianapolis track the drivers
must shut off at the turns and
they need a quick pickup on the
straightaways. Hence the differ
euce in gears. It sounds ali right
That's the way it was explained
to us, anyway,
RumOrs continue TO circulate
about Ralph De Palma. lie has
turned his twO-car entry over
to Tommy Milton. Speedway
officials say, however, that the
Italian driver will be in the biz
race.
TIE PAOLO'S Miller seems to
I'D be in the best tune Of any
of them at present. All of
the Millers leaked a Stream OF oil
after stopping Tuesday and the
drivers feet had an oil bath. The
oil tank is carried low in the new
911a inch jobs. Harry Miller after
looking at Pete's car after a spin
taken by Red Shaffer said he
would have the little difficulty
fixed in jiffy.
Tony GullatO is having quite
a time converting Harry IIaItZ's
old 122-inch Miller into a 9I13
job. Tony got some new parts
. the other day and said they
were 100 per cent nOn-iit.
= Il
C. w. Van Ranst, who drove a
car in the 1921 500-mile race, was
a visitor at the Speedway the
other day Van is interested in
the manufacture of a new access
DRY, manufacturing plans Of which
are Just being completed. lie said
he would be % spectator, May 81.
Some say that Van Ranst would
have been a top-notcher I'm the
race game is he had stuck TO the
track. He amazed some of the old
timers by the way ne handled a
car
The divine spark of inspiration
seemed to be prcsent-that added
something which makes a Ty
Cobb or a Babe Ruth i'm baseball;
a Thorpe in football; a Paddock or
Locke in track; a Tilden in tennis.
TULES ELLTNGBOE has his
Miller Special about ready.
G Jules is from Memphis,
Tenn. where he is interested in
couple Of automobile sales agen-
cies. The former dirt track star
says that whenever anybody sees
the Tennessee license on his tour
ing car they ask him if he has
any Corn
We didn't press the matter, but
felt like asking the same question.