May 14 - Practice Heats Up

Bob Burman in his Keeton racer, Charlie Merz and Don Herr of the Stutz team were the big buzz generators of the prior day and both the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis News focused on their activities in their May 14, 1913 coverage of the upcoming Indianapolis 500 on May 30. The article in the first attachment, IMSStar051413 marvels at how all three drivers and cars had been on the track in "brushes," which is a reference to how they passed each other. Burman is recognized as the fastest of the cars, and a striking but albeit grainy image of his car coming up on Herr's Stutz is captured in the second attachment, BurmanNews51413.
 
I love the elements of color that you can pull from these articles to imagine the setting. Burman's manager Ernie Moross is noted as sitting on the pit wall to watch his driver throughout the practice runs. Note too that Burman's car is described as green in color - obviously pre-dating the bad luck superstitions about the color that existed for so many years until Jim Clark's victory in the 1965 Indianapolis 500.
 
It is interesting to note in coverage throughout the month that a recurring topic is just how anticipated the arrival of competitors - especially the Europeans - such as the Peugeot and Isotta teams was. Perhaps it is a sign of the times that the logistics of transporting people, cars and gear appears to be such a struggle. This is true as well for domestic teams coming into Indianapolis via the railroads. The Case team with Louis Disbrow, Joe Nikrent and Bill Endicott had still not arrived and people were waiting on the Gray Fox racer for Howdy Wilcox.
 
Finally in attachment NewIMStimer051413 there is a small item on the continuing effort to set up a timing system.
 
Among the arrivals are Jules Goux and Paul Zuccarelli whose Peugeot team cars preceded them at the track by one day. American hot shoes Bob Burman in his Keeton racer, Billy Liesaw in his Anel had Charlie Merz of Stutz had all been on the track the previous day.