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BULLETIN.
Ralph De Palma, in a Mercedes, won the Vanderbilt cup race.
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VANDERBILT CUP RACE COURSE, Oct. 2 -- With his roaring exhausts belching smoke, Ralph De Palma shot from the starting line at 11 a.m. today. The Vanderbilt cup classic was on.
On the thirtieth lap, De Palma was leading the field by 1 minute, 50 seconds, Hughes second, Wishart third, Anderson fourth, Clark fifth, Nelson sixth.
Thirty seconds later, Hughie Hughes in his yellow Mercer darted from the line, followed thirty seconds later by Ralph Mulford.
When Harry Nelson, the only Milwaukee entry in the big classic, made his start, the crowds which filled the stands and lined the course applauded him.
Spencer Wishart, Gil. Anderson, Clark and Teddy Tetzlaff followed in the order named. In three-and-one-half minutes after De Palma had started the eight speed dragons were burning around the course
The crowds had been wildly demonstrative as the speed kings thundered from the line. Now they anxiously awaited the first car to make its appearance. In a few moments, a white speck shot into view and a second later De Palma past the stands, having negotiated the first lap in 6 minutes, 57 seconds.
After leading the field from the ninth lap, and while steadily accumulating what looked like a winning margin of time over all his rivals, Teddy Tetzlaff, the Pacific coast speed wonder, burnt up his engine in the twenty-sixth lap and was forced to retire from the race.
Tetzlaff had won a host of admirers by his daring driving during the day and was picked by many as the probable winner. At the time he met with engine trouble he was leading De Palma, his nearest rival, by 7 minutes, well over a lap.
The crowd sympathized with the driver in his misfortune and when, some minutes later, he walked to the grandstand gave him a great hand. The loss of Tetzlaff from the race made either De Palma or Hughes look like the probable winner, as Wishart broke a drive chain on his twenty-ninth lap and lost many minutes putting on a new one. Anderson was a dark horse in case of any accident to the leaders, as he was putting up a consistent race.
That 60,000 people had paid admission was the official announcement. It was estimated that as many more saw the race from various positions of vantage around the course.
Hughes, in his Mercer, crossed the line forty-six seconds later. Mulford, in his Knox, was the next to finish the lap, covering the distance in 6 minutes, 31 seconds. Wishart was the next to pass the stands, having passed Clark.
Anderson came next, but Tetzlaff crossed the line ahead of Clark. On the second lap, Mulford crawled past Hughes into second place while Tetzlaff passed Anderson.
This table shows the positions of the racers the first fifteen laps:
No. 22 Mercedes, De Palma -- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2.
No. 23 Mercer, Hughes -- 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 4.
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No. 24 Knox, Mulford -- 3 2 . Out magneto trouble.
No. 25 Losier, Nelson -- 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7.
No. 26 Mercedes, Wishart -- 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3.
No. 27 Stutz, Anderson -- 6 7 7 6 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 5.
No. 28 Mercedes, Clark -- 8 8 6 5 6 5 6 6 6 6.
No. 29 Fiat, Tetzlaff -- 7 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 .
De Palma finished the third lap in front, next came Tetzlaff who had passed four men on this round. As aall the drivers but Milford shot past the stand the crowd stirred uneasily and questions were asked. "What has become of Milford? Is he hurt?"
It was not until some time later that the announcer called out "Milford is off the track with magneto trouble, and the crowd broke into cheers of relief.
By the time 23 miles had been covered, Tetzlaff had plunged through the field from the last man to start and seventh on the first lap to second position. From then on to the ninth lap it was a battle between the flying Californian and De Palma.
The Italian managed to keep his car in front by mere yards when in the ninth lap he was forced to lay up at the pit to take on a tire and although his stop was short, Tetzlaff flashed into the lead.
At this time Tetzlaff was averaging nearly seventy-five miles an hour and it was not until the nineteenth lap that he was forced to stop at the pit for a supply of gasoline, water and tires.
De Palma in the meantime was making a game fight but luck was against him. In the fifteenth lap he lost almost five minutes by the clumsy work of his pit men. When changing his tires a jack slipped and the rear wheel fell to the ground.
Once under way again, by the twenty-first lap De Palma had worked his way back to second position while tire trouble had caused Wishart to fall back into fourth place, Hughes creeping into third.
On his twenty-second lap De Palma was again forced to change a rear tire, losing 1 minute 30 seconds.
One hour before the race was scheuled to start, the following cars were lined up at the pits: Anderson's Stutz; Tetzlaff's Fiat; Nelson's Lozier; Hughes' Mercer special; Clark's and De Palma's Mercedes, and Wishert's Fiat.
Mulford, who was to drive a Know special, was late.
Mrs. De Palma, wife of the racer, wire husband from New York that she did not want to hear anything about the race until it was finished.
At 10:15, the first bomb, signalling the closing of the course, was fired. At 10:30 the second bomb was exploded.
At 10:45, at the third bomb, Ralph Mulford took his place at the start. Anderson in his Stutz was next to leave his pit for the line, followed by Hughes. Pullen, barred from the race on account by the failure of his car to meet the requirements of the Vanderbilt race, rode with Hughes as his mechanician.
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