| Article Index |
|---|
| Green Dragon Racing |
| Gordon Bennett Race and Tragedy |
| Gas To The Carburetors |
| Healed and Ready To Race |
| The 1906 Racing Season |
| All Pages |
Page 2 of 5
The Green Dragon was not successful in the Gordon Bennett race; Mooers killed the engine on the start and had several mishaps during the race. He didn’t finish and said they were outclassed by the European cars. The American tires weren’t designed for road racing and on a sharp curve the tire would roll off the rim.
Louis brought the Dragon back to Cleveland and made several changes to it. He built a new radiator that fit between the front frame horns; he installed an aerodynamic aluminum hood, changed the exhaust system and installed disk wheels with different rims and tires. Louis realized that he was also outclassed as a driver and decided to hire a professional. Ridgeway and Tracy drove for Peerless but it was Barney Oldfield that Louis really wanted as his driver.
Barney was a National Champion bicycle racer. Tom Cooper was Barney’s best friend and fellow bike racer. In 1900 Tom purchased an English gas powered tandem bike and wanted Barney and himself to try and break a speed record. They brought the bike to the Grosse Point Michigan track for an exhibition run. They were completely over shadowed by Henry Ford, who defeated Alexander Winton in a match race that afternoon. Barney and Tom broke up and Barney took the tandem and put the engine in a single bike. He made a new carburetor and exhaust system and went on to set some speed records. Meanwhile, Tom Cooper had entered into a partnership with Henry Ford to build a pair of race cars. They were well into the project when they realized that they needed another mechanic. Barney was contacted and joined the team. They took both cars to the Grosse Point track for a test run, one car would not start and the other would start but died right away. Back to the garage. On the second attempt the same thing happened. Henry was discouraged and wanted out, he was about to manufacture an automobile for the public and didn’t want to start out with a failed race car with his name on it. He sold both cars to Tom Cooper for $800 and walked away.
