To Please a Lady Page #9

to take any calls, but he insisted.

He said he must talk to you.

Thank you.

Yes, Gregg?

Regina,

Dwight Barrington just killed himself.

Killed himself...

Oh, no.

No, he couldn't have.

Well, he did, my pet.

He went out in style.

He had a conference with his lawyers.

They told him his appeal

would be hopeless.

So he smoked a cigar,

drained a snifter of cognac...

...fitted a pistol to his ear

and shot his brains out.

But it's terrific, Regina.

It's like an open admission of guilt.

It'll be front page from coast to coast.

You'll get all the credit.

Credit? Oh, Gregg.

I feel as if I killed him.

Well, don't be stupid, Regina. He

couldn't face 25 years in jail, that's all.

- Do you want me to come over there?

- No, no.

And there's no need to hold the column.

The papers will have it ahead of us.

I'll see you tomorrow at the office.

Did you ever hear of Dwight Barrington?

Sure. The guy you've been needling.

He just killed himself.

Well, some guys can take it, some can't.

It seems you don't always have to drive

a racing car to kill a man.

- You were only doing your job.

- I should've given him a chance.

- I never believed he'd do this.

- You were doing your job.

What you don't understand

is the man is dead because of me.

You were doing your job,

same as I'm doing mine.

I've told you that before.

You're still so sure of yourself,

aren't you?

Still so sure that you're right.

There must be something inside you

that makes you the way you are.

Maybe there has to be.

Maybe.

We just don't see things the same way.

- Are you coming to Indianapolis?

- I don't know.

I don't think

I want to see you drive again.

I guess you're right.

We don't see things the same way.

Everything does stop right here.

Good morning,

this is Ted Husing speaking.

We're out here in Indianapolis getting

ready for the great 500-mile classic.

And the big moment is almost here.

The one these drivers

have been waiting for all year.

Cars are now rolling out

to the starting line.

The few at the pits

are getting a last-minute checkup.

There's a crowd of a quarter million

here today.

They've come from every state

and every country on Earth.

They're here

for the thrills and excitement...

...which can only go with

a high-speed spectacle of this kind.

The fastest long-distance race in the

world. There's a carnival atmosphere here.

People have been coming

since before dawn.

Stands and bleachers and boxes are

packed solid and the infield is jammed...

...while the coolest men in all this

excitement are the drivers themselves.

Their machines are still

wheeling out to the line.

The mechanics who push them are sporting

uniforms that match the colors of the car.

That was the 9:
55 salute bomb.

Only five minutes to go.

Now everybody involved in the race...

...are grouping at the starting line

for the photographer.

This is quite a tradition here.

Drivers, mechanics, timekeepers,

officials, yardbirds.

Why, they all pose for their picture

just before the race starts.

That's for the scrapbook.

I'll check on last-minute

changes in the lineup...

...and be back

when the boys get rolling...

Mike.

- I had to come.

- So I see.

- Mike, could we start all over?

- Hey, baby, what we had never stopped.

- Where are you sitting?

- Up there.

I've never seen anything like this.

It's terrific.

- So are you.

- It's like the 4th of July...

...and a heavyweight fight

and the World Series all rolled into one.

Now I can see.

It takes a certain kind of guy.

And that guy

needs a certain kind of dame.

Mike, there goes another minute bomb.

Standing here talking, come on.

- Good luck.

- Thanks.

You've fallen hard, haven't you, Reggie?

That's too bad.

He's going to kill somebody today.

Himself or somebody else.

The cars are ready on the starting line...

...and in less than a minute

they'll be off on the parade lap.

This is the fastest field seen here

at Indianapolis.

Every one of these 33 cars has qualified

at over 128 miles an hour.

They're all ready to go

and they make quite a spectacle.

Watch my signals

and let me know you get them.

Okay. Okay.

We'll make your pit stops count,

in and out fast.

Everything's gonna be fast here today,

Mac.

Here we go.

Here, Mike.

There's the bomb.

There they go with the pace car leading.

- Pour it on.

- Keep her in the groove.

- Show them, Mike.

- Let them hear you whistle.

They keep formation all the way around

the track, picking up speed as they go.

There's a million dollars' worth

of fast equipment...

...and plenty of well-known names.

Three-time winner Mauri Rose

in the front row.

Back of him, handsome

Johnnie Parsons from California.

There's Walt Faulkner, Jack McGrath,

daredevil Joie Chitwood.

Stock-car champion Myron Fohr.

There's Mike Brannan,

Ed Zang, Lou Neuhouser.

But go anywhere down the line

and you name a great driver.

One who's doing what every race driver

dreams about.

He's out here on Decoration Day...

...going for 500 miles

and a purse of over $ 200,000.

This Indianapolis classic is bigger,

richer, tougher than ever before.

The cars are faster, the drivers more

skillful. They're coming around now...

...rank on rank of machines

keeping beautiful formation...

...and picking up speed all the time.

You'll never see anything faster on wheels

anywhere in the world.

Here they come out of the turn...

...holding formation

as they roar down the stretch.

The pace car begins to pull over. The

speed's going up as they come to the line.

It's going to be a 100-mile-an-hour start.

And they're on their way.

A beautiful start.

Wonderful sportsmanship.

Here they come roaring into the stretch.

As they hit line at the end of first lap,

Mauri Rose in the lead...

...then comes Parsons, Duane Carter,

Walt Faulkner and Ed Zang.

They're hitting it hard right from

the start, really traveling out there.

This is going to be

a record-smashing race.

Mauri Rose out ahead

at the end of the first 50 miles...

...his average speed,

127.53 miles per hour.

In second place, Parsons.

Third, Neuhouser. Fourth, Ed Zang.

But nobody's letting them get away.

The boys are really bending them around

through those turns.

There's a fight for fifth place.

Jamming through the turn.

Number 17, that's Brannan in there.

Schmarfee in 16,

Chuck Leighton in 22, Pete Kasso.

But that bunching is dangerous.

They know it, but they won't break it up

until somebody gets in the clear.

Into the turn, Brannan's ahead of Kasso.

He's moving between

Schmarfee and Leighton.

Barreling right on through,

he's split that dogfight wide open.

He's in front of the bunch

as they come out of the north turn.

They're all standing on it

down the main stretch...

...really carrying the mail.

Now it's Mauri Rose still leading,

then Johnnie Parsons, Neuhouser...

...Ed Zang, and Mike Brannan

fighting for fifth place.

They're running into traffic that turn,

lapping slower cars.

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