In the excitement of watching a big automobile race, where lives and fortunes are at stake every second from the drop of the starter's flag until the last car finishes, the public often marvels at the fact that the officials are able to furnish absolutely accurate and frequent detail records of the time, distance, etc. of each car.
To the layman in the grand stand everything connected with a big race appears like one volcanic eruption a cannonade of heavy artillery, with the spitting forth of fire and smoke, gasoline fumes and burning rubber, thru which the demon cars burst past the line of vision (time after time until the flag falls at the crossing of the winner).
Then, who knows "how fast?"
Only the official starter, judges, timers and drivers themselves realize the importance of the little wire which a few of the spectators may have noticed stretched across the track at the starting and finishing point.
As each car passes over the wire its performance is "officialy" recorded by means of one of the most delicately constructed devices ever manufactured.
There are only two of these devices in America. One is owned by the Indianapolis Speedway and used to officially time all the big races there, including the grand Memorial Day annual event.
The other is owned by the veteran "Starter" Fred Wagner, whose fame is world wide. It is the race timer built for and owned by Fred Wagner that is used in timing the big California and Florida events, the annual Elgin road race, etc., and it is the official timing device of the American Automobile association (A.A.A.). These timing devices cost over $5,000 each.
The entire outfit of the Stewart-Warner electric horograph as this timing apparattus is called, consists of a wire stretched across the track and fastened at one end to an electric break maker. Next, a time registering device run by a motor run by a motor and battery; also, a Bliss chronometer, which is probably one of the most expensive clocks ever made, this part of the outfit alone costing $750.
The operation of the device is as follows: as a car passes over this wire, which is elevated about an inch above the track, it depresses it. This action makes a "break" in the electrical current, and this break causes the timing device to operate.
This timing device may be compared to a typewriter, with the exception that, on a typewriter the key strikes against the paper and ribbon resting against the pad, while on this machine the operation is just reversed. A long strip of paper is run thru the machine and passes under a marking ribbon. Raised above this is an arm or striking pad.
The car in passing over the wire breaks the electric connection. This "break" causes the marking pad to strike the strip of paper resting over the raised numerals on the edges of the discs. Thus is imprinted on the paper the precise "time" as shown by the exact position which the discs may be at that instant. The machine then automatically shifts the paper along ready to receive the next impression, which will be caused by the next car passing over the wire.
As the first car makes the circuit of the track it automatically records the precise time that the lap is made in.
A relay fitted within the device prevents the back wheels of the car registering, but this relay does not prevent the registration of the two cars which might pass over the tape within 5-100 of a second of each other.
This whole race-timing device is so intricate that the work of its construction was placed with the Stewart-Warner Speedometer corporation whose experts are authorities on magnetic type instruments.