The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-02-15
MOTOR SPEED
MARvELS TO
SEEK RECORD
Worlds Fastest Cars Will
Start Florida Derby
Trials Today.
L0CKHART IS IN RACE
Speedway Winner of 1926
Will Burn Up Track
in Special Stutz.
By United Press

BY OntteG PTeSS
ORMOND DAYTONA BEACH,
Fla, Feb. 15.-Celebrating the twen-
ty-flfth anniversary of automobile
racing in America, the international
Speed Trials will begin today, when
three Of the fastest and most pow
erful cars the world has seen will
thunder down the twenty-seven mile
beach course in an effort to break
Major Segrave's 203.79 mp.h. record.
The speedway is the one made
famous twenty years ago when W.
X. Vanderbilt, Barney Oldf1eld, Hen
ny Ford, Tommy Milton. Ralph De
Palma and many others set auto
mobile records.
1t is the course over which Major
Segrave of England streaked mile
in II seconds last March.
British Ace on Scene
Capt. Malcolm Campbell, British
speed ace, is on hand to defend Eng
lands speed laurelS. He will use one
of the British air ministry's secretly
built $50 h. p. Napier engines such
as was used in winning the Schnei-
der cup race.
L. M. White of Philadelphia,
wealthy manufacturer and his
thirty-six- cylindered, three motored,
four-ton "Triplex" also are here.
Whites car develops 1900 hip,
weighs four tons and is the most
powerful the world has ever seen.
Frank Lockhart, young American
speed king, winner of the Indianap-
oils Speedway race in 1925, and a
$1,000 winner in 1927, Is another
who will strive to travel faster than
man has ever before gone on land.
His car is a specially built sixteen
cylinder Stutz. Fortunes have been
spent on these cars and it is not
unlikely that a speed Of 205 m.ph.
will be reached.
Speed Beyond Imagination
The terrific speeds to be attempted
are hardly within the imagination
of the average car driver. Segrave's
hand was blistered from the heat
worked up by the twenty-four CYL
inders.
He catapulted seventy-three
miles per hour in low gear, threw
it into second until 142 mp.h. had
been reached, then into high gear.
At ITO m.p.h., he aimed the car as
one would a gun and released every
ounce of power the 100000 creation
would hold.
The great three ton thing leaped
ten and fifteen feet as it struck
slight indulations in the white silica
sands.
Four Miles to Slow Down
Newspaper men said they could
not turn their heads fast enough to
follow it. In the blink of an eyelash
he had gone 300 feet and four miles
were required to slow down.
The races will be held under SUI
pervision of the American Automo-
bile Association.
The classic will, as a whole, be
test of the speed of cars over a
measured mile on a straightaway
course, with four miles to start, one
mile to run, and four miles to slow
down.
The beach is smooth and hard,
Is straight and narrow, 500 feet
vide at low tide and when wind and
tide conditions are right affords the
most perfect straightaway course in
the world.
Schedule of Events
The full program Of events in the
great auto classic follows:
February IS
Event stock cars selling for
$1,000 and under.
Event 2-Stock cars selling from
$1,000 to $4,000.
February 10
Event Cars selling for $4,000
and over.
Event 4Gentlemen's race, open
only to amateur drivers who must
drive their own cars. Cars must
be regular stock.
February II, 10, 10, 20, 81, 20 and
23-
Event Stree for all speed trials
for the worlds straightaway mile
record.