Al Poole & the Indiana Trophy

Our post last week about Heroic Age journeyman driver and mechanic Al Poole inspired historian Chucky Ruddy Jr. to share a picture he came across of Mr. Poole at the 1909 Indiana Trophy. Poole drove for Chalmers-Detroit at that June event.
 
The Indiana Trophy was the support race for the feature contest of the weekend, the Cobe Trophy. Both races were held near and around Crown Point, Indiana near Chicago. The races were organized by the Chicago Auto Club, chaired by Ira Cobe.
 

Here's something you may not know. These races were the first major motor racing contests in "the West" - which, in those days, was anything west of the East Coast. The big events there were the Vanderbilt Cup, the American Grand Prize, the Briarcliff road race, the race in Lowell, Massachusetts and the Ormond-Daytona speed tournament. The Cobe race was also referred to in the newspapers as "the Western Vanderbilt."
 
Clearly overshadowed by the Cobe Trophy feature, the Indiana Trophy became a footnote. Still, it was a major contest at the time and because there had not yet been races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana Trophy became the first long distance road race in America that was beyond the Easter Seaboard.
 
In the end another journeyman driver and Chalmers teammate Jo Matson brought home the Indiana Trophy. The race was never reprised. Attendance was hugely disappointing and the rugged public roads course proved craggy and brutal. Nobody enjoyed themselves.
 
The Chicago Club went into full-bore auction mode trying to find a new course. Hours south the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beckoned. That was a tough pill for the Chicago elite as the Hoosier capital city seemed to signal a sort of surrender as "Chi-Town" failed to create their own speedway.
 
Hey! Now is your chance to learn more about early days auto racing. Here's the deal, though. You have to click thru and around on this 100% free Web site. The Web site known as First Super Speedway!