Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 May 1940 — Page 22

Race Motors Differ From Those in Average Autos

(Continued from Page One) | 4. between the space the piston travels - through the stroke of the engine dnd the space remaining in the °, head of the cylinder when the pise - ton reaches the top of the stroke, Thus if the gas mixture Is com-:: pressed into an area one-sixth that

Speed 74.590 78.700 76.920 82.470 89.840 83.260

88.060 x magnesium alloys in places. where 88.500 an ordinary commercial engine has 89.620 |cast iron or heavier alloy parts 94.480 The, steels used in parts like con- . necting rods, crankshafts, timing 90.650 | gears, etc., are more nearly similar r ines. . 98.230 0 ise I % highs before compression, the ratio would - | 101.130 er strength steel alloy is used in|be six to one. | : 95.880 place of steel. This now is being| The less space there is at the top . done in many passenger cars. of the cylinder the higher the come . 97.540 Tne alloys used in race car go-| Pression and, within reasonable 99.480 | tor construction also are chosen be-| limits, the higher phe compression “~~ |cause with their lightness they com-| the faster the engine will turn and -

Driver Motor & Cyl Ray Harroun .......Marmon6 .......... Joe Dawson .........National4 .......... Jules Goux .........Peugeot-4 ,........ Rene Thomas ....,..Delage4 ...,.. Ralph DePalma ..,..Mercedes4 ...... Dario Resta ......,.,.Peugeot-4 .......... Howard Wilcox ......Peugeot4 .......... Gaston Chevrolet ..,.Monroe-4 ..........5 Thomas Milton ...... Frontenac8 ........ James A. Murphy .... Miller-8 Thomas Milton ......H. C. S.-8 .......... L. L. Corum-Joe Boyer Duesenberg-8 ....... Peter DePaolo ......Duesenberg-8 ....... Frank Lockhart ..., Millers ............~ George Souders .....Duesenberg-8 ....... Louis Meyer ........Miller-8

Year 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1919 1920 |Marmon to victory in the first race 1921 Wnearly ‘30 years ago, is connected |1922 [| with the auto industry. es 1923

|| Joe Dawson, the 1912 pace setter, | lives in Philadelphia and is a sales-|{1924 . 1925

Only Two of the 24 Past Winnerdof the Five-Century Remain in Active Big-Time Auto Racing Competition

7 Are Still Connected With Auto Industry

9 Dead, Each Killed at|—— " Wheel of Car “| LETTER 'M' LUCKIEST ONE FOR DRIVERS! |

{Wilbur Shaw was the only driver to go “over the wall” in a wreck and return to the track to drive in the same race. That was in 1930, He came back as a relief driver in his teammate’s car. ® #2 } : 2 2 =n ) {The letter “M” is the lucky one for a driver. Six gimes the h checkered flag. has gone to a racer whose last name began with A Yet some names are indelible— 8 8 man for an auto supply concern. 1926

that letter. Four “S’s” have won. Three times the “C’s” and “D’s” a as ong | have been victorious. "|| "he "two. French winners, Jules n Goux and Rene Thomas, long ago 1927 1928

New faces, fresh thrills, un-| Leralded rookies toppling yesterday’s heroes. That is the. ever repeating story of the 500-mile race.

a a

checkered flag dipped in salute to ; # =n . 8.4 turned to their native land, wi their victory. oo ‘Two is the luckiest car number. That number has finished eo el haga eg What of them now? How have first four times. Four, eight, 15, 16, 23 and 32 are next with two (|,pq Bugatti automobile factory.

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time and the fortunes of speed dealt with men like Ray Harroun, Ralph De Palma, Tommy Milton; Billy Arnold and Lou Meyer? There have been 27 races with 24 winners. Two drivers, Milton and Wilbur Shaw, have won twice. Another, the immortal Meyer, has captured. the classic three times. The 500-mile winners don’t die in bed. None of them has died a natural death. » "Of the 24 winners, eight died with the roar of the crowd and screaming tires ringing about them, . A ninth was killed early last year in an ordinary highway traffic accident. : Two previous winners are back again to try for gold and glory— Shaw and Kelly Pefillo. The only other victor who, still races-—Louis Schneider—limits | himself to . the midgets. | i 3 Seven have some connection with the auto industry, one is in aviation, one has retired, another is a mechanical engineer. : an Of the 15 still living, two live abroad, three live in Indianapolis, the rest have: homes scattered throughout the U.*S. The following table tells the story: Year Winner Present Occupation “711 Harroun Auto industry 12 Dawsofi Auto supply salesman '13' Goux Lives in.France '14 Thomas - Lives in France 15 De Palma Diesel engineer ’16 Resta Ki racing *17 No Race— World War 118 No Race— World War 119 Wilcox = - Killed racing 190 Chevrolet Killed racing *21 Milton Free-lance consultant 99 Murphy Killed racing - 23 Milton Free-lance consultant 24 Boyer Killed racing Corum Mechanical engineer 105 De Paole Consulting engineer +96 Lockhart Killed racing - 97 Souders With local airport ‘198 Meyer Retired 129 Keech Killed racing *30 Arnold With Chrysler s31 Schneider Racing midgets 732 Frame Runs West Coast Gar. ’33 Meyer ‘Retired / 34 Cummings Killed in auto accident *35 Petillo Racing here this year 36 Retired fhe Racing here this year Killed racing

#39 Shaw, Racing here this year

‘|two years finished third.

wins apiece. Number 1 has finished first only once,

of those nine former winners whose memories are still alive at the pitside. Sx of them were killed in two years or less after their triumph here. Ray Fleech, the 1929 victor, was killed ‘tyro weeks after getting the 1629 chefkered flag. Joe Boyer, cowinner of 1924, lived but three months. Gaston Chevrolet met death sit months following his victory in 1920. Strange it is that the first to be killed—I)ario Resta—should have Lived tle longest after a victory here. Vinner iY a Peugeot of the shortened 300-mile race of 1916, he continued racing until his death eight years later. He was Killed Sept, 2, 1924, on the Brooklands (track ir England, while testing a race car. Nv Racing in War Years’

During the war years of 191713 the race was postponed. Most of the drivers were in France. . But the following year enthusiasm soared to a new peak when one of the classic’s most cologful champions, Howdy Wilcox, whipped across the wire at 88.06 miles an hour in a Peugeot. Still in the game he loved he was killed on Sept. 4, 1923, at Altoona, Fa., when he threw a rear wheel. .-Two of the Chevrolet brother trio—ILouis and Gaston—were close behind Howdy in the 1919 race here and“the next year Gaston returned td win a spine-tingling*match from kis compatriot Rene Thorftas. Six months later Gaston's great career was storped by a board track crash ay Beverly Hills.

Murphy Killed at Syracuse

Jimmy Murphy, rated by experts as: the “perfect driver,” captured the event in 1922 and for the next He was killed on the Syracuse, N. Y., mile dirt track on Sept. 15, 1924. The 1924 race saw the first pair of winners. First place was shared by Lora L. Corum and Joe Boyer, who relieved Corum and went on to win. Less than three months later Boyer crashed and was killed at the Altoona track. Frank Lockhart came to Indianapolis in 1926 as an exercise boy for the cars‘in the Miller stable. When Peter Kreis was sent to the hospital

Death bas come swiftly to most threatened with pneumonip, Lock-

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killed in a 500-mile race.

hart took his car. Rain stopped

the race at 400 rhiles and the unknown daredevil from the West was two laps in front. . His victory was tremendously popular. On April 25, 1928 while attempting to set a straightaway record at Daytona Beach, Fla, Frank lost his life when his superpowered Stutz Blackhawk blew a tire. The Lockhart Tragedy

Lockhart had been at Daytona since mid-winter trying to crack the

straightaway mark. ‘On April 22,

which was a Sunday, Ray Keecn whizzed on the sands at 207.5526 miles an hour—a new record. Lockhart was out once on Monday and twice Tuesday to befter Keech'’s total. On his" third attempt on Wednesday, while Mrs. Lockhart watched, one of the huge tires exploded, hurling him onto the beach. He was dead "when spectator reached him. The following May, Keech, who had risen from a truck driver in 1927 to the world’s record holder fo the Daytona mile, woh, in his fir start, the 500-mile spin. :

It Lasted Two Weeks

The victory for which he had worked so long was sweet. Two weeks later he was killed at Altoona. The death of Bill Cummings was ironical. "Wild Bill had driven 2907 Speedway miles at tremendous speeds and never been seriously injured. In 1934 he won. Early last year he was killed while driving to

his home here when his automobile!

skidded and plunged into a ditch just outside the’ city. Up until'last year, no winner was Then came the three-car crash of Bon Swanson, Chet Miller and Floyd Roberts. To keep from smashing into Swanson’s spinning machine, Roberts, the 1938 victor, shot to-the cutside of the track and /plowed through the guard fence. He was killed. Of the 15 former living winners, only Shaw and Petillg remain to carry on. The most illustrious former champion, the three-time victor, Lou Meyer, has just retired. What of the others? Taking them in order: : Ray Harroun, whe drove his

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De Palma In Diesel Work Ralph De Palma, who captured the admiration of thousands when his motor failed a few yards from the checkered flag in 1912, came back to score in 1915. Today he lives in New York City and recently has been working on Diesel engines. The firstitwo-time winner, Tommy Milton, hit the jackpot in 1921 and repeated in 1923. Until last year Tommy, the “old fox,” was con-

|| nected with the Packard Motor Car /1Co. and now is a free-lance con-

sultant. : : The 1924 co-winner, Lora UL. Corum, lives in Indianapolis and works as a mechanical engineer. Peter De Paolo, Ralph De Palma’s nephew, sped over the bricks at an average of 101.13 to win in 1925 and to set a tragk record that remained unbroken for séven years. Pete now is engaged in writing and also is a consulting engineer. . Souders Now With Airport In 1927, George Souders, former Purdue’ University student, crossed the wire ah€ad of Earl DeVore and Tony Gulotta to grab first money.

| Souders now lives here and is con-

nected with the Municipal Airport.

In 1928 Meyer, then an unknown, |

arned his first share of the Speeday glory, taking the checkered flag less than a minute ahead of Lou Moore. He followed this up with his two sensational victories in 1933 and 1936 to become the only threetime winner. ! ] Billy Arnold, now with the Chrysler Motor Co. on the West Coast, dazzled the fans with the driving that won for him in 1930. The next itwq years, after leaaing most of the way, he crashed in serious accidents and then retired. an Scattered rain slowed "the 1831 classit so that Schneider was able to set no more than an average of 96.629 to win. Louis left Indianapolis for the. West Coast a few days ago. ’ Fred Frame, a veteran who had been consistently dogged by tough luck, shook off his jinx and copped the coveted trophy in 1932. He now runs a garage in California. Petillo scorched the bricks. at

106.24 miles an hour leading Shaw

and Cummings to the wire in 1935. Wilbur had to wait two years until 1937 and then turned the oval at 113.58 to set a new all-time

record. Last year he flashed. under |

the flagman’s tower again to rack up number two,

J Sead

1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

Here's Your Glossary

Or Do You Know What Putting a Blower On an Old Goat Means to a Monkey

RACING, LIKE NEARLY EVERY sport, has its own slanguage, a ‘combination of slang and specialized language. If the drivers and mechanics were to use too much of it to the un-initiated at one time it would be so much double-talk. !

Ray Keech ..........Miller-8 Billy Arnold ........Miller-8 Louis Schneider .....Miller-8 Fred: Frame ........Miller-8 Louis Meyer ........Miller-8 William Cummings ..Miller-4

Kelly Petillo ........Offenhauser-4-...... Louis Meyer ........Offenhauser-4 ...... Wilbur Shaw ........Offenhauser4 ...... Floyd Roberts ,..,..Miller-Offenhauser-4. Wilbur Shaw ........Maserati-8 ..,......

Some of the most used terms:

An Old Clupker or An Old Goat—An old car. Backing Off—Reducing acceleration. Big Bull Ring—The Indianapolis Speedway. Blacksmith—A_mechanie.

(See

“Grease Monkey.”) Blowers—Superchargers.

Bugs—Mechanical faults. Cutting a Quick One—Driving a particularly fast 4Quick.”) Crate—A racing car. [This “goats” and néw vehicles]. Galloper—Connecting . rod. Gates—Valves. Grease Monkey—Mechanic. [See “Blacksmith”]. Gilhooley—A bad spin or skid. Iron—Auto parts: [See your own

carl.

Jockey or Chaffeur—Driver. Losing It—Letting a car get out of control. : . : On It—When a driver is pressing hard on ‘the throttle. Pouring Coke, or Coal to It, or Standing on It—Going fast in the turns. Pots—QCarburetors. . : Quick—To go fash

orion The

refers to “clunkers,”

bracing

sponge

Revving—When a car is “really revving” if, means a driver is getting all the revolutions possible, .Shoe or Skin—Tire, Small Bull Ring—A dirt track Turn—a Lap. :

Days of Yore

IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS of racing, drivers would come roaring down the home stretch at close to 100 miles an hour—wearing corsets! They had to, because ther the

cars rode on high préssure tires, there were no springs shock absorbers.

drivers could not have stood the 500-mile grind. Today few of them wear any such support. The seat cushions, back and sides are made of

many of the heavy shocks.

97.580 bine added strength to stand up un100.440 der the tremendous heat and speeds 9 6. 620 at which the motor operates.

: Double the Horsepower « | 104.140 :

an ‘example of comparative 104.160 weights, a four-cylinder Offen104.863 hauser with a 255-cubic inch piston ’ displacement generates. 200. horse106.240 power. The average passenger car 109.069 engine of the same piston displacefly ment has less than half that much 113.580 power. | 117.200| If the same power to weight ratio ’ remained, (o generate the same 115.035 [power from a passenger engine that _ |is secured | from a race engine, the passenger engine would have to be almost twice as big. : The smaller . the engine, naturally the lighter it is, using the same alloy parts. When engineers use a small engine to save weight, they then must attach a super-charger to create the speed, power and acceleration they would get in a larger engine without a supercharger,

Twe Schools on the Subject

The supercharger mixes air or oxygen with the gasoline, making a mixture which explodes more readily and with greater force, resulting in greater power.

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per minute ; both schools of engineering—supercharged and non-supercharged. With a supercharger you can have a smaller, lighter engine which ; generates as much power as a Jager engine. But a supercharger ex'Good ’ O Id pensive and is: one more device ( which might fail during a race. The non-supercharged advocates cut the «cost of their engine but have a to contend with. + Another point is that the maxi-

by the Speedway with a supercharger is 183 cubic inches. Without a supercharger the maximum allowable is 274.59 cubic inches. All passenger engines also are designed so there will be a minimum of wear on moving parts, while this is not a factor with the race car builder. Race car wear is compensated .by more frequent repairs. ‘ ~ Too, there Is a considerable difference in compression ratios between two types of engines. Com-

and no Without. the from the corsets the

rubber which absorbs

’

rger, heavier power plant|both the intake pg exhaust values,

efficient com

the more power it will, produce. > Racing engine chambers are made as'small as possible. <

High, Octane Ratings :

Ordinary commercial fuels, hows « |

ever,- limit the compression ratio -

which may be used in passenger =

cars. Because of the problems of ~ noise and Surabilify, the passenger - engine could not| use the special - fuels with the high octane ratings . which racing engines burn. ’ Drivers in the “500” generally use - High anti- - and secre invention.

three types of fuel: knock gas, alcohol, blends of their o 4 The high anti-knock grades give - them reasonably high compression - without the “spark rap” or detonas tion of ethyl gasoline with a maxi= * mum economy.

This gas gives 10 - to: 11 miles per gallon. < : Alcohol, which is burned in most :

of the Maserati and Alfa Romeo - engines, gives the greatest power - but with the highest cost and least _ economy. he *

Three Miele Gallon! z

Alcohol burners get on an dverage from three to four miles a gallon, Some cars, like Raul Riganti's Mae serati, get only one lap (two and iles) each gallon, _

There are drivers who hold to|With (fuel alcohol costing about -

gallon these cars are almost -

Race engines a efficienit ; valve sin even - though their life is shorter.’ . Practi all race cars are of . the valve-in-head® type, while few ° passenger car models have this type < motor. The average passenger car - has only one cam which operates .

gine has a cam *

while the racing e

shaft for each and both are at the = mum piston displacement allowed |top. og

Racing engines have much more

acing cars use

Here again the [racing engineer =»

has worked toward the demands of his product just as the passenger car engineer works toward the dee I mands of pression ratio refers to the relation!different.

his, although both are =

ustion chambers than = » passenger cars. Passenger cars-usue - ally carry one carburetor or a dual - carburetor while up to six. More efficient and more 3. carburetors mean much finer tuning - (better distribution),. more power and higher revolutions. Na.

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