Marion & Indiana Trophy (Stutz)

This image comes from a photograph in the May 30, 1909 Indianapolis Star. This is a picture of one of two Indianapolis-based Marion race cars entered in the June 18, 1909 Indiana Trophy support race to the June 19 main event - the Cobe Trophy race, named after the cup donor Ira M. Cobe. One of the Marions, in the hands of driver Adolph Monson, finished third and the other, driven by Charles Stutz, finished ninth. The designer was his cousin Harry Stutz. Harry Stutz, who would go on to found the Stutz Motor Company in 1911, is believed to be in the passenger seat. At this point he was chief engineer at Marion. 
 
Charles Stutz is at the wheel in this image. There is some confusion about whether it was him or cousin Harry that actually raced the car but I believe it was Charles who had earlier been announced as one of the drivers. These races were organized by the Chicago Auto Club with American Automobile Association (AAA) sanction. The race course was over notoriously poor public roads in northwestern Indiana between Crowne Point, Indiana and Lowell, Indiana while skirting the community of Cedar Lake.