Engelbeck Cobe Trophy

This powerful image is of driver C.A. Engelbeck in his Stoddard-Dayton stock racer  during the Cobe Trophy - Indiana's first major road race held June 19, 1909. The Cobe Trophy race course was composed of notoriously poor public roads in northwestern Indiana between the Indiana towns of Crowne Point and Lowell while skirting the community of Cedar Lake. Not much is known about Engelbeck but he was competitive in this race finishing fifth. Note the shadowy figure of the riding mechanic leaning into this treacherous "S" curve to distribute weight for maximum cornering speed. The Cobe Trophy race was named after the cup donor Ira M. Cobe.  These races were organized by the Chicago Auto Club with American Automobile Association (AAA) sanction. This image comes from a photograph in the June 19, 1909 Indianapolis News.