News of First Serious Accident of Speedway Season
Thrill for Throngs Arriving Early for 500-Mile Race—Driver Uninjured.
DURAY’S SPEED BURST STANDS AS RECORD
Noted Personages Here to Witness World’s Greatest Motor Classic
Bricks Cool and Experts Predict New Mark.
By Blythe Q. Hendricks
First serious accident at the Speedway this year occured today when L. L. Corum crashed into the wall in one of Ralph De Palma’s cars Which he was to drive in the 500-mile race Saturday.
Corum was not hurt. The car will be out of the race.
News of the accident provided an advance thrill for the throngs arriving early for the race.
The accident occured shortly before noon at the first turn. Corum was driving at better than 100 miles an hour when his car, De Palma’s “Bobtail” Miller Special, skidded and turned completely around, stradling the inside retaining wall.
Astraddle the wall, the car slid backwards 300 feet and came to a stop.
While preparing for the Speedway race several years ago Corum, in a Frontenac, skidded at the same spot and was forced out. Corum was joint winner In 1924 with Joe Boyer. He drove the car in which Boyer won the race for over 100 laps.
Corum will drive the car De Palma was scheduled to start in the race as result of the accident. De Palma will pilot the front-wheel drive Miller which Benny Hill was to pilot.
Hill will be at the wheel of his Miller Special Ray Carrens was to drive.
Annual invasion of the city by race fans was on in full force. Early today constantly increasing lines of automobiles began to pour into the city. From all corners of the State came reports of roads crowded almost to capacity with Indianapolis bound motorists. Railroads also brought in their quota of visitors, and by Saturday morning the traction and motor bus lines will be crowded.
All day long the cars streamed into town—big, powerful sedans spattered with the dust of Texas and Oklahoma, frisky flivvers scampering in from States along the Atlantic coast, here and there a sporty roadster breezing in from a winter in Florida, battered busses from the Pacific slope, in fact, cars of every kind and description from almost every State In the Union.
Hotel lobbies filled early in the day and it was easy to tell in the benevolent smiles of self-satisfaction the guests who had been wise enough to make their reservations months In advance. The late arrivals rushed madly about trying to find some place to sleep for the night.
Same Old Scenes
At the Speedway ticket office the same old scenes were re-enacted. Visitors utterly dumbfounded to learn that the day before the race it would be Impossible to obtain front-row seats in grand stand A, or choice parking space behind the pits.
Out at the track again It was the same old story. Drivers and mechanics of cars already qualified working steadily, confidently, putting the finishing tuning up touches on their mounts; crews of stubborn busses which refuse to function properly and must make their qualifying laps today, working madly in desperate efforts to get their cars to the line.
With twenty-three cars already qualified and four more possible, if not probable sorters, to try today, indications are the starting field will consist of twenty-four or twenty-five cars when Seth Klein, official starter, gives the contestants the flag that will send them on the long 500-mile grind at 10 a. m. Saturday.
Cloudy and cool weather today will almost certainly mean a new record Saturday, drivers and track experts said today. The bricks in the track are cool, and this will mean long life for tires. The terrific speed shown in the qualifying four-lap trials, when Leon Duray and Peter De Paolo averaged better than 113 miles an hour, Harry Hartz more than 112 and Earl Cooper almost 110.5, means that the average for the entire 600 miles will be above the 100-mlle mark, was the general consensus of opinion about the Speedway.
H. J. Skelley in his Skelley Special and Bob McDonough, Miller Special, were the two drivers to qualify Thursday. Skelley average 88.743 miles an hour for his four laps and McDonough, 101.931. Cars that must make their runs today if they hope to get in the big race are Phil Shafer’s Duesenberg, last year’s winner, Tom Alley’s Kess-Line Special, Smith Special driven by S. S. Smith, and a Super-Ford that never has been at the track.
Never before has there been so much uncertainty as to drivers of certain cars as there is today. One thing is sure, and that is that Benny Hill will give up the front-wheel drive Miller and will return to his first love, his old Miller Special.
Prospective Change
Another prospective change is in the Duesenberg team. Antoine Mourre, who qualified Dusie No. 23, has not been satisfied with it. As a result Norman Button or Wade Morton may take the seat.
There was a world of sympathy expressed for Charles Shambaugh of Lafayette. Year after year Shambaugh has worked on a car himself, entered it and then failed to get it here.
Thursday he brought his double-chain drive, supercharger, four-cylinder creation over from on a truck. It warmed up in good fashion, he gave the officials the signal for his time trial and knocked off the first lap at 91.8 miles an hour. On the next lap, when everything seemed rosy, he burned out a bearing. Without a single word of complaint or kick against his jinx, he packed up his car for the return trip to Lafayette. He received as many handshakes of condolence as many a victor gets.
Smith Special Here
Contrary to expectations, the Smith Special came breezing in on the tail of a touring car. It is a neat, trim, eight-cylinder car built by the Green Engineering Company of Dayton, Ohio. The crew got it on the track, but it needed tuning and will try to qualify today.
The Kess-Line was still in course of assembly. Tom Riley hoped to get it out today in time to qualify.
Among guests either in town today or expected to arrive were: Charles M. Schwab, New York, official referee of the race, who has reservations at the Indianapolis Athletic Club; Gar Wood, speedboat king; Harry F. Firestone, tire manufacturer; Baron Von Luettwitz, Berlin, Germany, who was in charge of the Mercedes team here two years ago; Horace Dodge, Detroit, Mich., F. R. Cramer, president of the Altoona, Penna., speedway, and William Pabst, Milwaukee, Wis.
Frank L. Hanbly, foreign district manager of Nordyke and Marmon, Paris, France; W. Iliff, Denver, Colo., with the Duesenberg team; A. S. Kaufman, New York, with the Duesenberg team.
Routes to the Speedway for Saturday have been suggested by Martin J. Hyland, city street commissioner, as follows:
Indiana Ave. and Sixteenth St. across Emrichsville bridge and west to Speedway.
Washington St. west to Tibbs Ave., north to Sixteenth St. and thense to Speedway.
North on Capitol Ave. to Thirtieth St., west to Riverside Park. From here either take Riverside park boulevard south to Emrichsville bridge or continue across White River to Georgetown road, and south to Speedway road.
West on Michigan St. to Tibbs Ave., north to Sixteenth St., west to the Speedway. This route is not in the best of condition.
The Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, IN, May 29, 1925