Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 May 1940 — Page 21
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The Seymour ‘ear after its 1939 accident. - Mitdmotive experimentation has its pri
, and unfor-.
tunately this often is collected in. human lives as well as in
time, money and materials. Last year Harry Miller,
he noted racing car crafts-
man, brought three new creations to the Speedway. With their rea engines, four-whee, drive and on-the-side pontoon fuel tanks, they represented a radical change from the orthodox type of machine. But they were new and had to be tested. This assignment fell to a trio of courageous speed veterans, Johnny
Seymour, George Bailey and
Zeke Meyer.
Misfcrtune struck in a hurry. While Seymour was wheeling one of the red-and-silver jobs in a workout,
the car went out of control
crashed into the concrete wall and burst into flames.
on the northwest turn. It Al-
though he was thrown from the seat, Seymour’s clothes were fired and he spent several weeks in the hosphia) recovering from second-degree burns. Shorty afterward Meyer. cne of the track’s gray-
beards, wes the victim of a similar spin.
No damage was -
done, howaver, and Meyer escaped injury, but he refused to take thy car on a ualinediion attempt.
Courtes sy Fleet To Be on Hand|
30 Cars With 50 Mechan ics Will Assist Motorists
Each year since the race started, a fleet ®f autos manned by mechan ics has been provided ay the Hoosier Motor Club t), aid Spe edway motol}ists. ; Tomorrow ‘there will be 30 cars with 50 mechanics &s a courtesy n t
only to members of Automobile Association, with whic
- the Hoosier Club is affiliated, but ‘all motorists on- the race grounds.
Among the fleet will be 11 wreckers and 17 ‘squad trucks for use of the National Guard to handle traffic details and io keep sraffic moving. The wreckers will be used to to disabled cars on the track or inthe grounds. The service als includes towi! g from roads in the vicinity of the Speedway; “can’t start” service, and direction and information.service. The cars will be identified by signs reading: “Hoosier Motor! "Club a d the A. AL A” = |
T4) ’ Then ‘It’s Bad! Leon Duray, the veteran driver and car builder, was asked how he felt about a wreck. He replied: “If |
you look up and see the sky that's i okay; but f you look up and. see' ‘and find out much:more before the again in one minute and eight sec-
|onds.
the bricks—-that’s bed!” -
the American
‘Here We Go,’ Said Mr. Boyer
WHEN JOE BOYER TOOK over the Duesenberg Special driven by Lora L. Corum in the 1924 race, he snapped his goggles down over his eyes and cracked at the pit crew: “Here we go. I'll either push her out in front or hang her on a telephone pole.” Corum hag moved his car up from ninth to fourth place, and when Boyer took over he began pouring on everything the car had. He hrought the Dusie home first and was listed with Corum as cowinner, the only time there ever have been two winners of the ‘same race.
They Keep an Eye On the Gadgets
The most interested spectators ‘at each 500-mile race are a group of privileged gentlemen who roam the sacred circle back to the pits each May 30° dressed in neat jackets always busy taking notes. These are members of the technical committee who are watching a hundred different gadgets in the cars in the race and who are selected from the leading automotive engineers of America. All are members of the American Society of Automotive Engineers. - They know plenty about motors
Irece is over.
Paul Hoffman
1Robert A. Stranahan, president of
Bailey was more , fortunate—at teash in 1939. The rear motor supplied the zip that had been promised from it, and Bailey was able to get a starting place in the second row on his 125-mile-an-hour speed. In the race itself he was forced out after 11714, miles with a broken valve spring retainer. .
Although the car driven by Seymour was reduced to
a pile of junk, the other two were entered in this year’ Ss “500.” Bailey signed to drive again; and George Barringer received the assignment as his teammate. But the jinx hadn’t been overcome. Bailey lost control of the machine in the southeast turn while turning a practice lap at an estimated 127 miles an hour. The car crashed into the inside guard rail and—just as it had happened in the previous accident—the pontoon fuel tanks
exploded. Bailey was burned severely before he could be.
dragged from the wreckage, and he died an hour later in
the hospital. : The seriousness of both accidents was blamed on the
position of the fuel tanks. Neither Seymour nor Bailey would have been injured seriously, it was contended, if the tanks had not been on the sides where they exploded
Race Referee
. R.A. Stranahan Named | Honorary Starter
Speedway officials annually select some noted | persons to serve as official - referee and honorary starter. ; This year Paul C. “Hoffman, Sree of the Studebaker Corp.
ind head of the Automotive Safety ‘Foundation, will serve as official referee.
The honorary starter will be
the Champion Spark Plug: Co. He will give the cars the green flag on the initial lap. In the 1939 race, Col. Roscoe Turner; the air ace, served as referee, and Gene Tunney, retired heavyweight boxing champion, sent the field away as honorary starter.
Pit Stops Usually Exceed 1 (Minute
When a car comes into the pits during the 500-mile race for tire changes or refueling, the time of the stop usually runs well over one minute. In 1938, Floyd Roberts, who won
the race, made a stop for new right rear tire and gas and Zipped out
1
CHOICEST
One of the Millers, George Bailey at the wheel. 1
immediately on impact with the railing. That has been the big flaw in the design of these ton mobiles, observers pointed out, but they had to be tdsted before this mistake could be discovered. The thi already withdrawn from the race, is expected to
turned to the Speedway next year with the fuel tan S in
a different position, - But why do these ultra-modern cars spin so easily? Paradoxically enough, it’s because they are so well bal-
anced, according to Miller, their designer. And the drive -
ers agree.
Race cars ’all have tachortieters to measure the en-.
gines’ revolution per minute and thus show speed. But
most drivers pay little attention to them in judging how to take a curve. They drive by feel; the roar of the motors in front of them, the vibration transmitted through their
bodies and their hands on the wheel, and that slight slip
of the driving Wheels i in the rear giving a warning of
skids to come.
That doesn’t work with the delicately-blanced, four-|
wheel drive Millers. The vibration is less; the rear engine is quieter, and the four-wheels slip together. So the
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‘Auto Unions.
It cost Bailey his life.
. drivers have to race by instruments if they are to race
safely. As for the Miller motors, they are considered among. the most powerful in the world. “Their six-cylinder engines turn over at 7000-7200 revolutions a minute, by more than a 1000 r. p.m.’s the highest of any racing cars in competition in America. What's more, they can. be driven at This is accomplished by 4 using a very short piston stroke combined with a large diameter cylinder.
and highest temperatures of the cylinder contents will |
be as large as possible—ar important way to ‘make the
engine more efficient. A special transmission saves power by lubricating gears with a mist of oil instead of filling the gear box with oil. So there's no doubt that these rear-engine Miller cars have enough points to outweigh their liabilities. Germany has proved the success of rear-motored cars with its We should be able to with the Millers.
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