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Reference code
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Level of description
Item
Title
BOLAND G52.1-013
Date(s)
- 1913-07 (Creation)
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Early racing superstar Earl Cooper poses at the July 1913 Montamara Festo races at the Tacoma Speedway behind the wheel of his Stutz "8," "the most winingest" race car in the country. On July 5th, Cooper won the 200 mile "Golden Potlatch" race in Tacoma with a time of 2:49:32 and an average speed on 71 mph. He later also won the 250 mile Montamarathon. 1913 was one of his best years in racing. He won 7 of 8 major road races, winning his first National Championship (to be followed by Championships in 1915 and 1917.) Born in 1886, Earl Cooper started out as a mechanic and throughout his career took a methodical and scientific approach to racing, as opposed to the daredevils that populated racing at this time. He worked closely with his mechanics and helped develop hydraulic brakes and pressure lubrication. He raced off and on until 1928 and managed racing teams after his driving retirement. He died in 1965 at the age of 79. Cooper joined the Stutz team in 1912. The Stutz had originated in 1910 when Harry C. Stutz established Stutz Auto Parts Co. to manufacture his engineering design, the transaxle. He built a car fitted with one and entered it in the first Indy 500 in 1911. It came in 11th. He then set up the Ideal Motor Co. (renamed Stutz Motor Car Co. in 1913) to manufacture the car. Its most famous model, the Stutz Bearcat sportscar, was introduced in 1912 to compete with the Mercer Raceabout. The company was finished by the Great Depression and ceased production in 1934, dissolving in 1939. SPEEDWAY-019, TPL-5479 (T. Tribune 7/6/1913, pg. 1; www.canadiandriver.com; www.hickoksports.com)
Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Cooper, Earl; Stutz automobile; Racing automobiles--1910-1920; Automobile racing drivers;