Cunningham & Co.

Millionaire Sportsman Briggs Cunningham, the only U.S. builder of first-class sports cars, tried a year ago to crack the European monopoly. He entered three cars in the 24-hour Le Mans race, the No. 1 event of sports-car road racing, and the most grueling. One Cunningham Special skidded off the road and cracked up; the second was forced out with a mechanical failure; the third finished 18th. Last week, loaded down with twelve tons of spare parts (including 25 spare tires and wheels, 1,500 spark plugs) and an entourage of 20 dedicated people (drivers, mechanics, an electrician and a trained nurse), Cunningham moved into Le Mans to try again.

At the 4 p.m. starting time, the drivers dashed to the 57 sleek, low-slung racers. Some 175,000 craning fans, who brought tents and bedrolls for their 24-hour vigil, were on hand for the big show. For hour after hour, roaring wide-open on the straightaways, the cars spun around the 8.6-mile oval course, stopping occasionally for fuel or tire changes. Nighttime mist hampered visibility, but the asphalt road, lightly sanded to prevent slipping in wet weather, never became treacherous.

Stalls & Tears. One by one, entries began dropping out as mechanical or physical fatigue overcame the cars or their drivers. At the eight-hour mark, the first Cunningham car dropped out with valve trouble; two hours later, for the same reason, the second was forced to quit. Owner-Driver Cunningham, along with Relief Driver Bill Spear, stuck it out in the third.

By noon the next day, the French fans had plenty to cheer about. Veteran French Driver Pierre Levegh, in a British Talbot, was leading the field. Just an hour and a quarter before the end of the race, Levegh's Talbot, leading by three laps, burned out a bearing and stalled. Levegh, who had been driving without relief, was so exhausted that he had to be lifted out of his seat. Carried to the roadside, he collapsed, weeping bitterly at his misfortune.

Mild Cheers. The winners, greeted with polite applause but no marked enthusiasm: German Drivers Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess in a Mercedes-Benz. Another Mercedes, also with German drivers, was second. Third went to a British-driven Nash-Healey. And fourth, of the 17 cars that managed to finish, was fagged-out Cunningham, who, after 19 1/2 hours of driving, had turned the wheel over to Spear. Winning, and record, distance set by the Mercedes-Benz: 2,320 miles, at an average speed of 96.67 m.p.h. Old (1951) record, set by a British Jaguar: 2,238 miles. The Cunningham covered 2,112 miles.

Cunningham's performance was far & away the best showing ever made by an American car and driver in a major European race. The showing, in part, was attributed to Cunningham's drastic weight reduction (from 3,800 lbs. to 2,800) in his three specials, powered by Chrysler engines. With a year's time for more tinkering and tuning, Cunningham & Co. are now using the Brooklyn Dodger slogan: "Wait 'til next year."

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