DE PALMA WINS BIG SPEED BATTLE AND HANGS UP RECORD

Famous Italian Auto Racer Captures 150 Mile Sweepstakes in Pretty Fight.

SPEEDS AT 92 MILE CLIP

Winner Clocked by Electric Timing Device in Exactly 91.88 Miles an Hour.

"RICK" WINS 50 MILE RACE

Maxwell Captain Comes Back and Wins From De Palma in Half Century Contest.

BY SEC TAYLOR

Ralph De Palma, the popular Italian auto racer, nosed out a victory from Eddie Rickenbacher yesterday in the second annual Des Moines speedway races after a radiator to radiator contest with the former Iowa driver throughout 140 miles of the 150 mile event.

Rickenbacher was compelled to stop twice in the pits for tire changes during the last ten miles and was put out of the running. Pete Henderson, Driving a Duesenberg car, finished second, Rickenbacher third and Lewis fourth. The winner's time was announced officially as 1 hour 37 minutes 15.15 seconds, and average of 91.88 miles an hour.

Ralph Mulford won the 300 mile race at the local speedway a year ago with an average of 87 miles an hour.

"Rick" Wins Second Race.

In the 50 mile event which followed the big race, Rickenbacher succeeded in defeating his Italian rival, De Palma, who finished second with Earl Cooper third, in a race which was sensational from the start. The winner's average was 94.38 miles an hour. It was a battle most of the way with De Palma, Rickenbacher, Cooper and Lewis leading.

No serious accident marred the afternoon of sport, which was seen by a crowd estimated at 12,000 persons, although two cars collided and overturned on the thirty-first lap.

D'Alene and Milton Collide.

The collision came when the right rear axle of D'Alene's Duesenberg car "dished," throwing the rear end of the machine against the safety rail at the top of the speedway. The impact threw the car back on the track, but it again swerved into the top rail. The iron bar held for a second time and D'Alene managed to steer it toward the lower part of the track.

Tom Milton, also driving a Duesenberg car, was racing closely in the wake of D'Alene. He swerved his car off the track in an effort to escape a collision with his teammate's machine, but struck it at the bottom of the board course and overturned.

Miller Hurt Slightly.

None of the four drivers and mechanicians was seriously hurt, although Ed Miller, who was riding with D'Alene, crawled from the wrecked car with a slight cut in his forehead and Orville Ellis, the other mechanician had a fractured leg. The two drivers walked to the finish point and watched the remainder of the contest.

In the main event De Palma held the lead with Rickenbacher second throughout the first forty-five laps with Devlin and Henderson alternating at third and fourth places except during the period before D'Alene's spill when he held fourth position. On the forty-sixth lap Rickenbacher took a momentary lead over his rival but lost it after two laps. He was compelled to trail in the Italian's smoke until the eighty-third mile when he again headed the procession of circling machines only to drop behind De Palma again.

Rickenbacher Takes Lead.

Rickenbacher again forged to the front at the eighty-sixth mile and held the advantage until the ninety-fourth when De Palma nosed his Mercedes to the fore with Rickenbacher closely behind him. At this stage of the race Lewis was third and O'Donnell fourth.

Rickenbacher was forced to go to the pits to change tires in the 108th mile, and De Palma circled the platter twice before the Iowa favorite again joined the race.

De Palma held the advantage throughout the remainder of the race, although he was forced to the pits once, where he changed a tire and started again in 20 seconds, Rickenbacher gaining only one lap in the interim. Rickenbacher ran second until the last ten miles of the contest, when he was forced to make two stops for tire changes, the delays enabling Pete Henderson to grab second money.

DePalma, Rickenbacher and Cooper raced in the order named during the first twenty-five laps of the second race. The former's car blew a tire at the twenty-fifth mile and forced him to stop for a change. Rickenbacher also was delayed by engine trouble at this period of the grind and at the thirtieth mile Earl Cooper in his Stutz was leading, Lewis in a Crawford was second, O'Donnell in a Duesenberg was third, and Rickenbacher in a Maxwell fourth.

Rickenbacher and DePalma gained rapidly on the two leaders after resuming the chase, the former having assumed first place at the fortieth lap. Galvin had forged into second place with DePalma third and Cooper fourth.

At the forty-seventh mile Galvin stopped for tire repairs, the delay allowing Cooper to lap him and beating him out of third place. Rickenbacher maintained his lead and won first money by a safe margin. DePalma finished an easy second, but Cooper, Lewis and Henderson were closely bunched and took places in the order named.

Both races were thrillers. Those of the spectators who did not find enough excitement in the competition, got it in an accident, which at the time gave every appearance of havinf added to the death toll of the race course.

The events were well managed and the large crowd which the speedway management announced as between 12,000 and 14,000, left the grounds apparrently pleased witht the afternoon's entertainment. The only delay was a postponement of the first race for fifteen minutes because of a congestion in traffic on the auto road between Valley Junction and the speedway, many of the spectators being delayed by it.

R.A. Level, official timer, worked until an early hour this morning, but succeeded in checking the 50-mile race only. Work of checking the racers in the other event will not be completed until today.

The entries in the two races, arranged in the order of their start which was based on the time made in qualifying, started in pairs as follows, the pole car being named first:

150-Mile Race

50-Mile Race

HOME

NEXT