"Turns Fast Lap on Indianapolis Track"
RENE THOMAS electrified the railbirds who are doping the winners in the international 500-mile Liberty Sweepstakes race on the Indianapolis speedway, May 31, by ripping off a lap on the 2-1/2 mile track in 1;32, an average of better tan 97 miles an hour, this though he shut off twice on the back stretch and slowed down for all four turns. Thomas claims that if pushed he can turn the track in 1;28, or considerably faster than 100 miles an hour. Only one man has ever made the journey in faster time, Barney Oldfield, who sent his huge front-drive Christie around the big saucer in 1;27. The official record for cars of the size of Thomas' flyer is 1;30.13, made by the late Georges Boillot, in 1914, Thomas' car is a new French eight-cylinder Ballot, built especially for the Indianapolis race.
