Walter Lees tells him about the record-breaking Packard Diesel Aircraft Engine.
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| Ralph dePalma, speedway king, listens attentively as Walter Lees tells him about the record-breaking Packard Diesel Aircraft Engine. |
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1908 American Grand Prize, 26 November, Savannah, 16 laps, Race Distance = 402.080 miles, Fastest Lap (Fiat), 21m36.0 1911 American Grand Prize, 30 November, Savannah, 24 laps, Race Distance = 411.360 miles, Third Place, (Mercedes), 5h34m40.8 1912 American Grand Prize, 5 October, Milwaukee, 52 laps, Race Distance = 409.760 miles, Fifth Place, (Mercedes), -1 lap accident 1914 American Grand Prize, 28 February, Santa Monica, 48 laps, Race Distance = 404.016 miles, Fourth Place, (Mercedes), 6h09m08.0 1915 Indy "500", Winner 1919 Daytona Beach FL., (Packard).Set speed record of 149.875 MPH. 1973 Dearborn, Michigan, inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame |
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Written on the photo is the legend: "To Commander Lees, a great friend and old timer that tried to make a flyer out of me in 1918 Ralph dePalma, 1957." |
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Hi Pal! -- Says Ralph de Palma, left, former Indianapolis speedway king, as he greets an "old buddy" Walter Lees, retired naval air commander who now resides in Turlock. De Palma, who won the 500 mile classic in 1919, was a guest speaker at a Automotive Hall of Fame luncheon meeting Wednesday. He is touring valley towns for the General Petroleum Corporation showing films of the 1952 races and telling stories of "the old days." Lees and de Palma first met in 1918 when Lees was a test pilot at Dayton, Ohio. De Palma, director of flying at the Dayton airfield, was unable to complete his training because World War I ended that year. He said he did not mind because he had traveled at greater speeds on the ground than airplanes could make at that time. Lees and de Palma had not seen each other since 1935. 
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