George Schuster Mechanic/Driver, American Thomas Flyer

An employee of the Thomas Automobile Factory in Buffalo, Schuster was appointed as mechanic for America’s entry, the Thomas Flyer.  Unlike all the other contestants who actively lobbied to participate, Schuster was simply doing his job.  He had been working with automobiles since the turn of the century and worked his way up to chief road tester with the Thomas firm, who doubled his salary to fifty dollars a week for the span of the race.  But Schuster also understood that his job on the race was to win!  In San Francisco he took over as driver of the Thomas Flyer, and finished the race in first place for his boss, E.R. Thomas – and America.

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