Winning Ways

At Indianapolis, there is always more excited talk about the man who might have won the famed "500 Mile" auto race than the man who actually wins. Last week the most prominent loser was carefree Duke Nalon, an old hand at jockeying high-powered racing cars at blurring speed.

On the 99th lap, Duke pulled his Novi Special into the pits for a scheduled fuel stop. As compressed nitrogen blew fuel from a drum into his tank, the precious seconds ticked away. Before his tank was full, Duke roared back into the race. About 86 laps later, while battling for the lead, Duke Nalon was caught by the nightmare that has haunted motorists since the day of the linen duster. He ran out of gas.

The winner was cocksure little (135-Ib.) Mauri Rose, at the wheel of a Blue Crown Special, the same car (four cylinders, front-wheel drive, no superchargers) that he won with last year. After averaging a record 119.8 m.p.h., Rose took two laps for insurance. Then he took a couple more. He had his speech all ready for the newsreel cameras when Hollywood's beauteous Barbara Britton tried to kiss him in the winner's cage: "There's a lady I want to kiss first ... I hope you'll understand. We're going to be married in June." The prizes he had helped win were ideal for setting up housekeeping--$42,300 in cash, a bicycle, a Chevrolet convertible, a diamond ring.

Other victors last week:

P: At England's St. Anne's-on-Sea, Atlanta's little Louise Suggs, daughter of an old professional baseball player, added the women's British golf championship to her collection, which includes the U.S. title. The loser: Scotland's Jean Donald, on the last green.

P: At Epsom Downs, for the second straight year, a French horse won the English Derby, the race that Britons cherish above all others. One of the largest crowds in racing history (an estimated 700,000 people*), saw My Love carry home the chocolate & chartreuse silks of the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of millions of Ismailite Moslems, ahead of the largest Derby field (32) in 86 years. Bubbled the fabulously rich, rotund Aga Khan, who had bought a half-interest in the horse only a few weeks ago: "I am delighted." Said one Frenchman, who came over for the race by boat and flew back after winning -L-100: "In France I use a pin to pick winners. In England I pick French horses." After the race there was talk--most of it idle--that a special match race would be arranged between My Love and Citation, the U.S. wonder horse.

P: At Compton, Calif., a lanky Negro named Lloyd La Beach (Panama's one-man Olympic hope) burned up the cinder path for 200 meters. His time (20.2) knocked one-tenth of a second off the world mark set by Jesse Owens back in 1935. Next day, long-legged Negro Herb McKenley (Jamaica's one-man Olympic hope) ran a dizzy 440 yards. The time (46 flat) chipped three-tenths of a second off his own world's record set a year ago.

P: In Toronto, after four months of playing cat & mouse with professional offers, Canada's 20-year-old Barbara Ann Scott (TIME, Feb. 2) allowed herself to be caught. The dainty figure skater signed a contract with a talent agency whose other clients include Hollywood's Shirley Temple, Joan Fontaine, Jimmy Stewart. Then she took some time off to worry about her freckles. Most likely assignment: the movies.

* About 100,000 manage to squeeze into Churchill Downs every year to see the Kentucky Derby.

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