Ormond Beach Speed Trials 1908

Attached are a couple of articles from the Indianapolis Star reporting on contests at the Ormond Beach speed tournament from March 1908. The first article was published March 4, 1908 and reports on a 125 mile race for amateurs. In these races the cars would typically go a marked-off distance of the beach, a few miles, and then circle back to complete several laps. As a result the leaders would be returning to the starting point of every lap in the face of the competitors who had yet to reach the turnaround point. No barriers, just pretty much like you driving your car on a two-lane road except both you and the opposing traffic are surging forward at the brink of control. Get this - the markers for the turnaround point could be something very basic like an exceptionally tall wooden step ladder.
 
A couple of noteworthy participants were the winner, Louis Bergdoll and Sam Stevens. Bergdoll was an heir to the Philadelphia Bergdoll beer brewing business. Stevens was the domiant force in the race, but mechanical failure nixed his effort at 70 miles. He is the forgotten third competitor in the Barney Oldfield - William K. Vanderbilt Jr. face off at Ormond in 1904.
 
The second article, published March 7, describes record runs by Maurice Bernin and Emanuel Cedrino, who was a mentor to David Bruce-Brown.