SPEED KING KILLED.

NZ Truth, Issue 1176, 14 June 1928, Page 17

SPEED KING KILLED.

TRYING TO SET NEW RECORD AT DAYTONA BEACH. DISASTER LAS* ON TYRES. Recently Prank liockhart, ■ American Mile Track Automobile Racing Champion, was instantly killed while endeavoring to lower the World's Automobile speed record. His light Stutz racer blew out a tyre as it approached the measured . mile timing wire and smashed to pieces in a 1,000 foot leaping skid. Lockhart was thrown from the hurtling car after it had jumped four times into the air, whirling and rebounding with the terrifio momentum of its 200 mile charge upon the beach course. ■ • - ; TYRE FAILURE BEEN AS CAUSE A survey of the course after liockhart's death showed that on the southward trip the tyre had begun to strip from the cord. Pieces of. the rubber tread were found oh the beach and indentations made by his right rear tyre clear to the south end of the course showed signs that the rubber tread was stripping from the cord on this run, and on the fatal return trip north, pieces of the ru'biber iwere found 2 miles south of the fatal skid, and a few hundred feet south of where the car finally went out of control were found pieces of the inner tube. Previous to this attempt it was Lockhart's policy to always equip his car with Firestone Gum-Dipped Tyres and even for his trial attempts at Daytona Beach he used Firestone Tyres, paying for them as would any other purchaser; but for the official race itself, Lockhart was influenced by a cash reward to change his tyre equipment to another brand — the result being disaster. Surely this tragedy points to the inadvisability of using any but tyres which have previously proven their strength and durability; of course, few will ever travel at such a terrific speed as dlid Lockhart, but even in open road running the frequent demands for Blowing down, constant stopping and the grinding wear and ,tear of the road necessitates that your car toe shod with only tyres of proven quality. Firestone Gum-Dipped tyres" are manufactured by a special Gum-Dip-ping process, patent to Firestone, arid it is impossible for the tread to leave the cord. The whole wheel would leave the car before this would happen. For safety and enduring wear there are no tyres to compare with Firestone as Frank Lockhart's tragedy amply proves.*