Auto Races and Tr-State Fair Will Add to the Fame of Burlington

With the Indianapolis speedway races a thing of the past and the Chicago auto derby being run tomorrow, the interest of the auto drivers and enthusiasts is turning to the smaller tracks over the country where, it must be acknowledged, there is more excitement than in one of the big events. With the attention of the recognized drivers diverted from the major contests of the season, the purse of the dirt track meets are the things that most appeal to them.

There are numerous mile dirt tracks over the country and it is on account of this very fact that so much interest is being centered at Burlington. The half dirt mile track at the Tri-State fair grounds at this place is the only one in the United States that came up to requirements for and secured a sanction from the contest board of the Triple A.

Enough has been said at various times regarding the excellence of the Burlington track, but the first chance of actually seeing the course is offered the local enthusiasts Sunday. The last few days of fine weather have enabled the workmen to finish their tasks and to have the course in fit condition so that the local auto drivers may drive their cars around the track.

The turns are banked so that a spill there is something that is not expected. It is, of course, impossible to avoid a mishap in automobile racing and the seriousness of the spill is determined only by the speed at which the car is going and the position it occupies at the time of the accident.

There will be no railing at the outer edge of the turns to prevent the drivers from running off the embankment. The edge will be guarded by a double tier of straw bales, which will answer practically the same purpose as a fence. A car would smash through a fence just as easily as through straw bales, and it is with the purpose of diverting the front wheels of the car back into the track that the straw is being placed.

It is the object of the American Automobile Association, or the Triple A, as it is usually called, to give to the people staging races under its auspices the very best there is obtainable. In order to accomplish this end and to gain the confidence of the racers themselves and of the race-going public, it first was necessary for the association to "deliver the goods." Their races are known as being the most carefully conducted of any.

Their drivers are men who have demonstrated that they are in the game because of the sport of the thing, as well as a means of gaining a livelihood, and they are willing to take their chances and to depend on the speed of their car and on their own ability as a driver to win races. There is never a "hippodrome" under the sanction of the Triple A. Such races are good exhibitions and sometimes there are such exhibitions staged on tracks that have the sanction of the association.

If such is the case the event is billed as an exhibition and none of the people who attended are forced to pay for a race. The motto of the officials and directors of the Triple A is, "A square deal for all," and they are living up to the letter and spirit of the motto.

When it is stated that a race is sanctioned under the rules of the American Automobile association it is another way of saying that with conditions favorable, the speediest car and the most skillful driver will be the money winner and that the people will be treated to a spectacle than which there is nothing more thrilling.

The entrance of Burman in the Burlington race was all that was needed to insure the success of the event. In fact, it is thought that even had he not been able to be present the races would have been the best of the kind ever seen. Then two Duesenberg pilots who will be here are among the foremost drivers of the United States, and the feats of Joe Cooper in his little Sebring have already secured for him a secure nich in the auto drivers' hall of fame.

Speed is what the directors of the local Tri-State fair are crying for and the secretary of the organization bent every effort in that one direction. He secured the best drivers in the United States and tomorrow it is thought that the three other vacancies that appear in the list of entries will be filled.

Secretary Holcombe left for Chicago last evening and will sign some of the other great drivers for the Burlington event. Several of them have signified their intention of entering here if conditions will permit. They all are anxious to experiment with the half mile racing racing and there is every likelihood that every turn of the local track will be accomplished in time that is better than the present world's record. The best time that has been made for one lap on a half mile track is 32 seconds. There are some who claim to have bettered this speed, but as it was not made over a sanctioned course the record is not allowed to stand.

Every mile that is made at Burlington will be an official one. The track is a sanctioned one and every one of the drivers and mechanicians who start here must first show that they are in good standing in the A.A.A. No drivers who have been racing on any of the "brush" tracks will be allowed to compete here unless they have since made peace with the contest board.

The officials of the local race will be men chosen by the contest board. Richard Kennerdell, chairman of the board, has announced his intention of being in Burlington for the races and and there will be other members of the board present. Clifford Ireland of Peoria is the official referee and he will be here in that capacity on July 9.

G. Decker Branch of Davenport, the official representative of the contest board of the Triple A, will be here and will do everything in his power to assist the local officials in making the race a success. It is a matter of pride to the general organization of the association to have the races that are run under a sanction a success. It means a stronger organization, and a membership in the great auto association means that back of the local management there is a long line of the biggest men in the automobile world and that they are doing everything in their power to make the local event a success.

The drivers who have signified their intention of entering the races here are among the very foremost of this country. Burman is the holder probably of more records than any other one race driver in the world. He is known as the Speed King, and in every race in which he is entered he lives up to the reputation that makes him such a drawing card.

In addition to being known as one of the nerviest and most skillful of drivers, Burman is known, especially among the drivers themselves, as one of the best sportsmen that ever sat behind a wheel. It was through his sportsmanship that Darius Resta was able to win the second of the great coast races this spring. Resta had trouble with his rear axle and Burman, whose car was not up to the standard he thought it should be, gave the rear axle of his own mount to Resta and the Italian was able to capture the second great motor event in two weeks.

It was also due to Burman that the Chicago built Ogren with Billy Chandler at the wheel was able to qualify for the big races at Chicago tomorrow. Chandler was having motor trouble and it was through the assistance and pacemaking of Burman in the Peugeot with Ralph Mulford acting as wind shield that the home built car could make the necessary time to qualify.

Things of this kind will add to the popularity of any man, and when a driver has, in addition, the ability of Burman, there is almost no limit to the pinnacle to which he can climb. Burman is one of the best boosters the local track has secured. The great driver has stated at various times that the race here should be one of the best in the country on account of the many hazards.

He is anxious to race over the local course and recently wired the secretary of the Burlington association that he was mailing his entry. The slip had been duly received and Burlington auto race fans are guaranteed that they will see the "Speed King" in action on the Tri-State fair track on July 9.

The Big Fair In August.

When the events of the season are being discussed it should be remembered that in August some of the finest horse racing and one of the biggest fairs in this section will be held at the Burlington Tri-State fair grounds. The entry of 257 different horses in the races, the total number of 282 entries having been received, and the fact that the grounds and buildings are said to be the most modern in the country today guarantees a successful fair.

George H. Holcombe, known throughout the United States as a fair builder, is the secretary and general manager of the local event and he has expended unusual and thought on the Burlington event. He states that things will be in such a condition by August 7 that the people of this city will wonder. The fair will be the biggest thing of its kind ever seen in this section and will be conducted along lines that are bound to win favor with the people who attend as spectators and with those who are there as exhibitors.

It would pay to keep in touch with Burlington fairs this and succeeding years, as they are going to be bigger and better each year.

HOME

NEXT