100 MILE AUTO RACE AT THE TRI-STATE FAIR GROUNDS IS MENACED BY THE RAIN

Vast Throng of People Assemble in the Hopes of Seeing Records Smashed.

Bob Burman Arrived This Morning -- Seven Entries of the Race Were on Hand When Starter Gave the Signal.

By "Buddy"

Seven of the great auto drivers of the world are this afternoon trying to clip some seconds from the world's records at the local fair grounds track and, incidentally, to defeat each other in the first 100-mile auto race ever run on a half mile course if it don't rain. The race is being staged under the auspices of the American Automobile association and everything connected with the event, from the officials to the drivers, is far and away above any similar event that has ever been staged in this section of the country.

The drivers, Burman, O'Donnell, Alley, Chandler, Cooper, Brown and Ball, are striving with might and main to cop the major portion of the $3,000 that has been posted in prize money for the drivers in the big race. The four hundred bad turns and the two hundred laps around the two-lap course is one of the things, it is said, that attracted such a gathering of great drivers to this city and which gave the people of this viciniity an opportunity of seeing men drive who usually are seen only on big speedways where the prize money totals into the thousands of dollars.

Burlington has been thronged with people all day long. Most of the downtown stores have been closed since noon and the employees and the employers are at the races. No one stayed home. The success of the race is something far ahead of anything that was even imagined by the local directors and augurs well for the fair that is to be held here next month.

People have taken the chances on the bad roads caused by recent rains and cars were seen here from points within a radius of a hundred miles of Burlington. In truth there were a number of cars from distances even farther than that, and everyone seemed bent on having a good time in addition to seeing the big races.

Contrary to all expectation there was no congestion at the gates of the grounds. The organization seemed to have been perfect. There was something for each of the employees of the association to do and every one of them was at his place and doing his duty. The ticket sale was conducted in a manner conducive of the speediest possible action and people were not forced to await their turns at the gates for more than a very few minutes.

The autos were lined up around the gates and in the grounds. There were automobiles everywhere. Cars were lined along the fences and around the edges of the track as closely as the rules of the Triple A would permit and people were trying to get even closer.

The careful policing of the grounds by the two companies of militia was an idea that shows, among the many other things, the thorough manner in which the details were cared for in preparing for the big race. Eighty men were intrusted with the duty of keeping order and enforcing the rules of the association under which the race was being run and all the men did their duty. None of the unpleasant snarling was apparent, however, and everyone seemed perfectly willing to be corrected when they were shown to have been at fault.

The gates of the grounds were opened at 9 o'clock in the morning and even that early there were many people congregated there awaiting their chance to get into the stands and secure as favorable a seat as possible. There was little choice to be had, however, as a perfect view of every foot of the track may be had from each seat in the grand stand or bleachers and exclamations of surprised pleasure were heard when this fact became apparent. No amount of publicity had succeeded in driving home to the people of Burlington and vicinity the thing that was at their very door. They would not believe that the track was the best in the world. Nothing would convince them that the grandstand could be constructed so that each seat afforded a perfect view of all the track, nor would they believe even that the drivers advertised would appear.

Today is here, however, and they see for themselves that everything said in advance, instead of of being an exaggeration was, if anything, below the actual condition of the fair grounds and of the structures there. They saw too that Burman, O'Donnell, et al, were actually there and now they are convinced. None of the people stayed away on this account, it seemed, because the entire available space was taken up by frenzied auto enthusiasts.

The bleachers on the back track were black with people and there was not a seat left in either grandstand or bleacher. The crowds were bent on seeing everything and there was not a turn or a slip that escaped their notice. The drivers were certainly never cheered more enthusiastically than here and it may have been that fact that made them drive in such a seemingly reckless manner. They went into the turns in a manner that predicted utter ruin for their cars and death for the drivers, but through some kind act of Providence they came out each time speeding up to get an even faster start into the next turn.

The cars were in fine condition. All of the drivers were there during the morning hour and the rail birds were given enough to keep them awake and eager to miss nothing. O'Donnell was one of the first on the track and he turned a few laps in time fast enough to show that he intended doing some more even faster during the afternoon.

Cooper did a few stunts and when trying out his brakes skidded such a distance that it was feared he was going into the rail. He steered clear and came out all right, grinning as he did so. His car was tuned to the minute and as he took it to his pit he said, "Well, we have done everything we know how to do and now it is up to us to show them some driving that will open their eyes."

By "their" he meant the other drivers. He was especially anxious to make a good showing on the Burlington track when there were so many other good drivers present on account of his miserable luck in some of the other big races this year. He overturned at Indianapolis, escaping with his life and many bruises, and at each of the other meets he has met with some sort of a misfortune that put him practically out of the running.

In each of the races he stayed in long enough to show that he had a car that was the equal of the best and that he was not the man who was afraid to drive it at top speed during the entire distance. He is going to make up for the ill-luck at other places, he says, by winning at Burlington over the very men who defeated him at the other meets this season.

Mr. Leavett, who has charge of the electric timing device, has been on the grounds since early morning and reported at noon that everything was ready for the race and that his machine was in perfect working order. Burlington auto owners will remember Mr. Leavett was the man who had charge of the auto institute here spring. He is a thorough student of automobiles and the various accessories of the machine and its use and his officiating as the head of the timers will insure accuracy in that department.

The accuracy of the little electric instrument can hardly be imagined. One statement thats been proven shows, in a manner, the accuracy of the instrument, that is the fact that it will register the difference in the time of the front and rear wheels of a car that is traveling at the rate of 120 miles per hour. This statement almost passes belief, but it has been proven beyond a doubt, and some experiments conducted this morning demonstrated that the instrument was all that is claimed for it.

President Deems was at the races. He arrived from the east last evening and stated that the reports of the big race had reached the part of the country where he was staying. He was enthusiastic about the conditions here and sat through the morning trials of the various cars as interested as any one of the spectators. Mr. Deems has done so much towards making the races and fair here a possibility that it is pleasing to the other members of the board of directors that he could be present for the dedication of the track.

O'Donnell was all smiles at noon. He had given his car and the track a trial and found both to be just about as he hoped. "Burman is going to have to step about some lively if he is going to finish ahead of me," said the little Dusenberg pilot, "he is a good driver all right and has a great car, but he is going to find that there are other good drivers and other great cars entered in the race before the end of the afternoon."

Brown and his Du Chesneau was the center of considerable interest this morning. The little car is so small that he immediately attracted a large following from the spectators. It was typically American that they should want the little fellow to win, and his work in the practice spins during the morning hours brought forth round after round of applause. Brown is driving a car that is the product of his own ingenuity. It has only 173 cubic inches of piston displacement, which is only six inches larger than the regular stock Ford engine, and has the little machine geared to a 3 3/4 to 1 ratio. The other drivers are geared to 2 1/2 to 1 or thereabouts and have something like 95 to 105 horsepower concealed beneath the hood of their racers.

The statements that the races would lack interest have all been quelched. Some of the ever-present skeptics were out with their crepe-hanging statements that the track was so small that the races could not be either fast or interesting. After the trials this morning both these statements have been cheerfully retracted. The races ARE fast and they ARE interesting.

When a driver shows that he can go into a turn at the rate of 55 to 60 miles an hour and come out of the turn at a speed of better than 50 miles per hour and come out right side up there is sure to be interest. The speed is there too, but that statement is made unnecessary as soon as the list of the entrants is given. Men of the calibre of the drivers at the track today would not sit in a car during a race if it did not have speed and they soon showed the they were at their best today.

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