Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-08-04 | Page 28 | De Palma may Win Championship Honor

lit pti m n CIIP1IP II Italian Speed Demon Ha; Captured Two 100-Pvlile 100-Pvlile Events. That Ralph D Pa! ma bids fair to be the cha;r.pion automobile race driver ol tne rear is the opinion of foeed exreru who saw him win the luu-mile Liberty handicap on the Cincinnati speedway. The lamous Italian's viciory on Independence Inde-pendence day marked the second 100-miic event he has won in three starts thi? year. The first was at New York in the postponed Memorial day races. At Chicago Chi-cago spark, pluj troubles put him out of the running early in the race. Tnus the record now stands with De Palma having two 100-mile events to his cre.lit Mis season and Chevrolet one. The clash between these two great rivals promises to he a thriller. Though De Palma did not win at Chicago, Chi-cago, his Packard showed wonderful speed. It made the fastest lap during the 100-mile race, at better than 110 miles an hour. In addition to -his honor, it nuns up as an added attraction the fastest lao ever made around that track, in 1:02:-H, an average of 115.3 miles an hour. This broke the two-year-old Chicago record established by De Resta of 113.2 miles per hour, and establishes a new mark in this country over any track for cars of like piston displacement. Track officials who have witched De Paima work out in practice say that his Packard twin six has made the two-mile circuit at the rate of 12i miles an hour. But De Palma is not relying on speed alone to win his races. Excessive speed is what tears tires to pieces in a verv short time. Thus it has been De Palma's problem to set a pace for himself that kept him in touch with the leaders and still saved his tires for the final spurt to victory. He states that when the time comes to cut loose he knows he can rely-on rely-on the reserve power of his Packard airplane air-plane motor. De Palma has a perfect tire record for this season's racing, which he attributes in part to the design of his car plus the smooth action of his twin six engine. His latest victory at Cincinnati Cincin-nati indicates that he has a ear which matches his ability as a driver and that he has hit upon the right combination of speed and skill to beat the jinx which seems always hovering at his eibdw.