1938: Automobile Racing

At the present time, American racing is divided into two distinct classes, namely 'big-cars' and 'midgets.' A 'big car' race is one in which cars of over 90-inch wheel base and weighing from 1,200 to 2,000 lb. compete on a track with a minimum length of a half mile. 'Midget' cars of about 75-inch wheel base, and weighing from 500 to 950 lb. are run on tracks of approximately one fifth mile, generally at night and under artificial lights. Midget automobile racing has been a recent development and until 1938 was not under the sanction of the American Automobile Association, national governing body of recognized automobile racing.

The opening 1938 event, the 500 mile Indianapolis Memorial Day Classic, held on the 2 mile speedway, was won by Floyd Roberts, 1938 National Champion in 4:15:58.40 elapsed time, at an average of 117.20 miles per hour, a new record for this event. Second was Wilbur Shaw and third Chet Miller. During qualification trials, Ronny Householder set a ten lap (25 mile) record of 125.77 miles per hour.

The event which ranked as second only to the '500' was the Syracuse 100 Mile Race. This was won by Jimmy Snyder, at an average speed of 84.205 for the one mile dirt track course.

Midget racing opened with the Nutley banked board track event held early in April. This race was won by Paul Russo, who went on to win the 1938 AAA midget championship title. It is difficult to tabulate records in this phase of the sport since there are no two tracks of identical type and dimensions. Perhaps the highest speed is the one lap record held by Russo at 7.92 seconds for a th mile track.

What, to many, was the most important achievement of 1938 in automobile speed work was the successive increases established in the one-mile World's speed record. As the year opened, this mark stood at 312.0 miles per hour by Captain G. E. T. Eyston of England. On Aug. 27, driving his 'Thunderbolt No. 1' on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, he raised this speed to 345.2 miles per hour. On Sept. 15, John Cobb. also an Englishman, driving his 'Railton Special,' recorded 350.1 miles per hour. The climax came when Eyston set the present mark of 357.5 miles per hour on Sept. 16 — close to six miles a minute!

Foreign Tracks.

Grand Prix automobile racing has been called of late the sport of dictators. This is a misconception. It is true, however, that no longer may individuals or manufacturers compete out of private resources, and the truly important races of the world today are comprised of highly specialized racing cars built by factories that are partially or wholly government subsidized. For Germany there are the Auto-Unions and Mercedes, Alfa-Romeo and Maserati uphold the prestige of Italy. Delahayes and Bugatti represent France. The automobile clubs of the world meet every few years and lay down the rules for the races and restrictions for the cars, and 1938 was of particular interest because the cars had to be built to new rules — a new formula, it is called and the question of who would be the most successful was on every lip.

The first big event of the year. The Pau Grand Prix, was won by a Delahaye, as was the second. At the Tripoli Grand Prix, Mercedes cars hit their stride and captured the first three places (the best Delahaye could do was fifth), averaging 128.79 miles per hour for the 325 miles, the fastest Grand Prix race of the year. Alfa-Romeo won the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix, but Mercedes again took the first three places in the French Grand Prix as well as the Swiss Grand Prix. Auto-Union won the Italian Grand Prix (with Alfa-Romeo second and Mercedes third), as well as the Donnington Grand Prix (in England). To sum up the season: Mercedes won six races, Auto-Union won two and Delahaye two.

The famous twenty-four hour race at Le Mans, France, deservedly went to the French Delahaye. The great Italian road race, the Mille Miglia, a thousand miles up and down the length of Italy, was won by an Alfa-Romeo.