Adolph Monson Portrait

You won't find a lot written about Adolph Monson on the Web and that may be because he was reported to be an amateur race driver at the time of running of the Indiana Trophy race on June 18, 1909.  He turned in a credible performance, finishing third in one of two cars that were the only entries from any of the Indianapolis manufacturers, in this case Marion. These cars were designed by Harry Stutz, who later went on to found another manufacturer of cars of branded with his name.
 
Stutz - or his cousin Charles Stutz as reports are confused in this point - also was a driver in this race but fell out of the competition after running his car into a ditch. The Indiana Trophy was the support race to the June 19 Cobe Trophy. This photo is of Monson driving his Marion to third place in the  Indiana Trophy on a public roads circuit through and around the Indiana cities of Crown Point and Lowell as well as a lot of countryside in the northwest corner of the state near Chicago. According to Michael Seneca, author of the book, "The Fairmount Park Motor Races, 1908 - 1911," Monson's riding mechanic was Gil Andersen, a Norwegian-born gentleman who would build an impressive career as a race driver in the coming years. This image is from a photo that was published in the June 19, 1909 Indianapolis News.