Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-09
INTREPID AUTO TRACK PILOTS
SCHEDULED FOR SUPREME TEST
Specially Arranged Racing Program An
nounced From Detroit for Selection /
of Champion Dust Eater" =:

ever they were called. they clearly
proved they were made Of the stun
that creates q champion. Chief among
these pilots who raced under the ba n.
ner of the National Motor Racing As
socfation, an orga imitation which preyi.
ously to the appearance OF it's drivers
at Laurel had devoted it's attention
solely to the dirt tracks, were Jimmy
Gleason and Fred Winnai.
Calm Driving Exhibited.
Tn Gleason the spectators had their
chance to see an exhibition OF calm,
calculating driving that never for a
moment became mere mediocre cir
cling of the track. He was the type
that was capable Of producing at one
moment a squirt that brought cheers
from the grandstand. while short
while later he might be giving a
superb showing of courage in the face
of obstacles which would take the
heart out of the best pilot.
Winnai. more youthful. a lover of
the spectacular, gave an exhibition
always of skill and a style of driving
that needed only maturity and further
experience TO bring him to even
greater heights. The difficulty WHICH
these pilots and their colleagues faced
at Laurel. il must be remembered
was that they had driven mainly. and
i'm some cases exclusively, on dirt
tracks The transfer then to the
board speedway was one to a new
sphere of experience.
Along with these speed kings who
are known to Washington followers of
motor racing the forthcoming cham
piOnship contest will bring together
the latest stars of the annual In
dianapolis classic-Frank Lockhart.
who won it last year, and George
Souders, who drove to fame in the
1927 event Cliff Woodbury., a skilled
performer on the boards as well "a on
DIRT. also is entered, along with "Ba he
Stapp, Walter Higgley, Charlie Gan.
ung Mike HickSOn. Fred Frame.
Billy" Arnold, Dutch" Baumann.
Louis Schneider and 'Whiz" Sloan.
Fast Drivers Match Skill.
There have been stirring events ca.
lore in which speed demons Of ma
| tional and international repute have
matched their skill in guiding the
| fastest motors, but few have been as
replete with potential interest and
significance to the motor racing clan
as the proDosal to award the dirt track
| championship. The reason is clear
After all, the driver who skids and
slides as he attempts to hold his car
| to the course with nothing but his
courage and intuitive skill to guide
| him as the thick dust clouds curl up
| around his mount is the one who
| looms as the cOlorful pilot of race cars.
| The board speedway represents the
newer opportunity for a faster pace
that is impossible on the dirt. but
| those who have compared the two de-
partments of automobile racing still
| look to the dirt for exhibitions of driv.
ing skill. a kind of daring that knows
no obstacle, and q spectacle generally
of speed fraught with the greatest pos
sible danger. partly because it is the
elder type. but also because in the
continuous skidding and side-slippinS
of the speeding cars the onloOker
feels he sees hazards that are not
quite so apparent on the board course.
TO select the best of the dust eat
ers' is. therefore, to pick the race
driver whose skill and intrepiditv are
for the moment. at least. the utmost
among a number who. to many auto
mobile racing enthusiasts. are the
! brayest of the brave.