For a more detailed account of the August 19, 1909 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in which the #3 Knox crashed and Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb became the first fatalities at the new Speedway, go to http://knoxracing.blogspot.com/p/1909-indy-crash.html
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| 1909 Indianapolis Motor Speedway poster (you can find reprints of this on line from various vendors) |
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| Indianapolis Motor Speedway as originally planned. The road course inside the oval was dropped and construction on the 2.5 mile oval began in March 1909. Photo Attribution: IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) |
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| Indianapolis Motor Speedway as built, as of 1936. Photo Attribution: IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) |
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| The original track surface was a mix of crushed stone and tar. Some accounts say there was also crushed shell. The surface broke up during the first races. The track was resurfaced later in 1909 with 3.2 million paving bricks, thus the nickname "The Brickyard." Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library |
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After the first day of racing crews worked well into the night to repair the surface and try to get it in shape for the next two days of racing. Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library |
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Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library |
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Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library |
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| Accounts of the Knox crash indicate the crash occurred "just after the grandstand" as it was entering the turn. Other accounts indicate the crash was at Turn 4. Need to reconcile apparent variations in the location. |
