“ It would be instead, a play—a tragedy of commercialism with each hired man striving for death of his rival commercially, showing no mercy, no quarter, because the winning car is placed on a pedestal in a Grand Marque; because the world places an enormous financial premium on its success and supremacy must be obtained at all costs. ”

“ Uncertainty of the road, uncertainty of your machine, uncertainty as to how your competitors were faring would give the interest, not the speed; you would pray for more, but be satisfied that your rivals were on an equality with you. ”

“ In addition to the excitement of driving a new car you always had the satisfaction of driving a faster car than you ever drove before, perhaps faster than any one had ever driven before, over a road varying in grade, character, and scenery, with every kaleidoscopic feature. ”

“ In the course of a series of thrilling and exciting incidents, as well as humorous and tragic accidents, he writes of the conditions of motor racing to-day, regretting the passing of the old conditions. Regarding the sport as the greatest evolved by man, his criticism of some of the attributes of present-day racing may suggest the curbing of tendencies which he regards as deleterious. ”

“ It has been realized, too, that speed has its limitations; that reliability scores over speed, and that the combination of the two wins success, so that any slight stoppage may mean defeat in a race decided by seconds. ”

“ Under the conditions that obtained in the old days the competitive element entered into it in the rivalry of the various manufacturers, for they entered in the hope that they could beat their rivals, but the purpose of the race was to prove to the general public that a motor car would go, and was capable of covering long distances in a speedy and reliable manner ”

“ Dozens of the racers owned their own cars, and others raced at their own expense. New cars were built for every race, each new car making a big advance over former cars. Cars were not ready until the very last minute before the race, and in consequence none was particularly handicapped. In each event were lines of untried cars formed up to test their capabilities over hundreds of miles of unknown road. ”

“ Fast speed is interest, but is not necessary. There would be more interest if twenty keen automobilists would take twenty cars of like build drawn by lot on the day of a contest, and start on a stretch of road for a given point. ”