SPEED KINGS EXPECT TO SHATTER ALL RECORDS FOR HALF MILE TRACKS

Everything is Ready for 11 Mile Dash Tomorrow.

All the Racers Are on Hand Except Burman Who Will Arrive Tomorrow Morning.

By "Buddy"

In spite of the rains yesterday and last night the interest in the 100-mile auto race at the Burlington Tri-State Fair Grounds tommorow is at its height. Five of the drivers who are to take part in the great race are on hand and Burman will arrive early tomorrow morning. Brown and his De Chesneau arrived last night from Omaha and his car is in prime condition. He drove to the track this morning and after looking it over gave the same verdict as the rest of the drivers who have seen it.

"It's the greatest half-mile track in America," stated the driver of the De Chesneau. "The banked turns and the excellent condition of the surface should make the course so that all world's records should be smashed."

This statement is the same as that made by all the other drivers. It was known that the Burlington track was a good oneand that fast time would be made here but it was hardly hoped that the conditions would be so that it almost took the breath of the drivers when they first glanced at the track.

All Are Pleased.

Alley, Cooper, O'Donnell, Chandler, Brown, all of them, looked at the track and gasped in amazement. They had heard of the conditions here and on account of the fact that the course was sanctioned by the Triple A they knew it must be a good one. O'Donnell especially was enthusiastic. He said the course was so far ahead of what he expected that there was no comparison and declared in emphatic terms that he was going to show the local spectators some new world's records for every distance from a half mile to 100 miles

Burman Sure Coming.

All doubt as to the arrival of Burman was set at rest yesterday evening when a telegram was received from "Wild Bob" say he and his Peugeot would be on hand tomorrow morning and that he would be in condition to go to the course at once and show some speed. He expressed enthusiasm in the message and stated he was working on his car in the private baggage car he had secured for the long jaunt from Tacoma to Burlington.

O'Donnell was told of the telegram from Burman and expressed gratification. "It will make some of us drive harder," he said, "but it will give the people a better race, and I am going to show Bob that he is not the only driver who has a fast car and lots of nerve. He is a great driver and for the sake of the crowds I am glad he is to be here. There is more sport in racing when the competition is keenest and the entry of "Wild Bob" insures that."

All Are Confidence.

"Bob is coming," went the word around the garage yesterday evening. Alley looked up from a set of valves he was working on and said, "That's fine. We will show him something here won't we, Eddie?."

"You're mighty right we will show him something," answered O'Donnell.

"I guess he's no better than he is," facetiously remarked "Nuts" Chandler. "He will find that the Duesenberg outfit will be hanging around his skirts, and if he beats us he will have to hang up some records that will last as long as cars are built the way they are built now and as long as mere humans drive them."

Joe Cooper had little to say. He was working hard and has his car about ready for the fly wheel that is expected this afternoon. "Burman is a real driver," the young fellow conceded, "and will show the people here some racing that will open their eyes. I have not had a chance to show what I can do but tomorrow, if everything goes well, I will show the auto racing enthusiasts that the Sebring is a fast car and that I am the kid that can drive it."

Not Boasting.

While at times it appeared as if the men were boasting of their prowess that is not the case. They are merely confident. Their cars are the product of years of hard work and brains and it is confidence in the designer of their motors and in the construction of the power plants that makes them say they will win. Their regard for their ability as a driver is not the thing of which they speak.

They know, as does everyone else, that they are great drivers and they know that every one of the others of the drivers entered is a great driver, else he would not be allowed to pilot such a car in the biggest races in the country. It is the car of which they are proud, and even this morning when the motors were scattered all over the Cadillac garage it was apparent that everything was up to snuff and that the cars would be ready for the long grind tomorrow.

Brown went to the garage a while this morning to give his car an inspection. He evidently was satisfied with the result of the inspection, as within a half hour he had gone to the track with the intention of taking a few laps to get the lay of the land.

Built His Own Car.

Brown is driving a car that is the product of his own hands and mind. The motor closely resembles Oldfield's Mercedes. It is conceded as being a fast "job" and Brown has the best wishes of all other drivers on account of his long streak of hard luck. He has been playing in ill fortune for some time, but the speed is there and the other drivers are expecting him to be one of the hardest to defeat in the race tomorrow.

Last season Brown was at the wheel of a little Buick. His car was only 90 inches in wheel base and had a time motor. At Iowa City he put up a great race and was defeated by Gus Monkmeier in a Staver with 750 cubic inches piston displacement. Brown stated this morning that the Iowa City races were the only time he has ever met defeat on a half mile track, and says he is going to make up for that defeat by winning here. He does not fear Burman or the Dusenbergs and is confident that he will take home the bacon.

Big Crowd Present.

Large crowds are hanging around the garage this morning watching the men at work. The motors of all the cars are scattered around over the floor and, to the uninitiated, it would seem that it would be impossible for them to race tomorrow. Alley worked until 4 o'clock this morning on his machine and spent the morning in a well-earned sleep.

There are some of the peculiarities apparent that are always to be seen where there is an auto driver. The drivers are not all of them superstitious, but there are just a few things that they do in order to avoid the persecution of the jinx. Certain parts of the motor must be placed in the car from a certain angle, and there are other things that work to chase the hoodoo.

A black cat is one of the things that will send terror into the hearts of the drivers and the disobeying of certain rules regarding getting into the car will surely lose the race.

Eddie's Drinking Cup.

Eddie O'Donnell has one of the cleverest arrangements in his car for drinking on the run that could be imagined. Eddie has a hollow steering post in his car and down the hole in the center of the post he runs a small hollow rubber tube. The rubber tube runs into a vacuum bottle containing a liberal supply of ice cold lemonade. The driver is thus able to sip the lemonade without removing his hand from the steering wheel of his car and is given the benefit of a cold drink without stopping to get it.

Eddie stated that a man gets mighty thirsty in the course of a long auto race with the dust and smoke of other machines continually in his face and it was that fact that caused him to invent the system for automatic resuscitation. The plan is certainly a good one and will be followed, it is thought, by other drivers before the end of the season.

Officials Arriving.

Clifford Ireland of Peoria, the referee, and Frank Lowry of Los Angeles, the starter, arrived in Burlington this morning and are all ready for their part in the contest. Both gentlemen were taken to the fair grounds this morning and gave as their opinion that the course was without doubt the fastes two lap track in the world.

The officials are appointed by the A.A.A. and have officiated at all the big racing meets in this country this season. They are men who know the game from start to finish and guarantee that the races will not be a fizzle through incompetent officials.

Timing Device Is Here.

The Stewart-Warner electtric timing device arrived this morning and is being installed today. The device is in charge of a man from the factory and insures that all race records established here will be official. The machine is sensitive almost beyond belief and it is known that it actually will record the fraction of a second difference between the time the front and rear wheels of a race car traveling at the rate of 140 miles per hour cross the tape.

It is only through the connection of the local management with the A.A.A. that they were enabled to get the electric device and they consequently are jubilant for that reason they went into the organization. The advantages are plain enough and the spectators will realize the wisdom in making the decision to enter when they see the drivers turning the Burlington course in time better than the present world's record.

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