August 3, 1908: Wildwood Races, Wildwood, NJ

(Click on the image below for a larger version)


No pictures have been located for this event yet.
A great day for Knox, Bourque and Denison.

 

 

September 7, 1908: Lowell Road Races, Lowell, Mass.

 



Billy Bourque crossing the start/finish line in the 40 HP Knox. Celebrating mechanician unknown.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Charles Basle driving the #7 Knox. Mechanician unknown but possibly Fred Belcher..
This looks like the 50 HP Knox usually driven by Al Denison.
This was Basle's only known event in a Knox.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

October 24, 1908: Vanderbilt Cup Race, Long Island, NY

 

Billy Bourque (L- Driver) and ? Lynch (R- Mechanician) in the 40 HP #20 Knox
Finished 8th; was on Lap 9 when race was called.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Bourque and Lynch at 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Races
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library




Al Denison (L- Driver) and ?? (R- ?? Crane, Mechanician) in the 50 HP #2 Knox.
 Finished 7th; was on Lap 10 when the race was called.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

#20 Knox with Bourque and Lynch before the start of the race.
The #17 Renault is to the right, driven by Louis Strang.
The Renault did not finish the race due to broken clutch on lap 4.
Photo Attribution: www.vanderbiltcup.com




Bourque and Lynch in the #20 Knox
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library




Denison and Crane in the #7 Knox at Flatiron Turn.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

March 1909: New York to Boston Endurance Run

 

 

Driver Al Denison (L) and Mechanician Lynch (R) in the #10 Knox entry.
They obviously didn't take I-95 to 91 to the Mass Pike!
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

Al Denison at the wheel, Lynch in passenger seat, looks like Billy Bourque on the running board.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

April 26-27, 1909: Fort George Hill Climb, Fort George, New York

Test Post



William "Billy" Bourque in stock Knox at Fort George Hill Climb
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



May 26, 1909: Shingle Hill, West Haven, Conn.

Test Post

Unknown Driver, Stock Knox, at Shingle Hill
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

May 31, 1909: Bridgeport Hill Climb (Sport Hill), Bridgeport, CT.

Knox was racing at both Wilkes-Barre and Bridgeport this weekend,
racking up ad-worthy success at both.



Spectators line the Sport Hill  course.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

More spectators.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Billy Bourque driving a Knox in the Stock class.
Note spectators to the left, right and background along and on the road course. Accidents could be catastrophic.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

John J. Coffey racing the Columbia #16 car.
He had also driven for Knox but was more often associated with Columbia.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Spectators rush to the scene of an accident involving the Isotta driven by Glenn Etheridge.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Cause of the accident attributed to front wheel getting caught in a rut causing loss of control.
Hill climbs were at relatively moderate speeds. Imagine a front wheel catching at 70+ mph as was believed
to be the case with the Knox crash at Indianapolis later in 1909.
Courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 



May 31, 1909: National Hill Climb, Giant's Despair, Wilkes-Barre, Penn.

 

The Knox factory team was also at the Bridgeport Hill Climb this weekend. Not sure who won the Hollenbeck Trophy at the National Hill Climb (need to research) but Knox owner and privateer Mrs. Joan Newton Cuneo is known to have carried the Knox banner at Giant's Despair in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Louis Disbrow was on hand as her mechanician (and may have also driven).

Despite Cuneo's outstanding performance at the New Orleans Mardi Gras races in February and her well established record as a driver, she was disqualified from racing after beating all the boys except Ralph DePalma in New Orleans. AAA officials at the Giant's Despair Hill Climb grudgingly allowed her to participate "unofficially." 

See "Drivers and Mechanicians" for further information on Joan Cuneo, and "Mad For Speed: The Racing Life of Joan Newton Cuneo."

 

 

 If you could read the thought bubble over Knox owner/driver Joan Cuneo's head
it might say: "I don't know about you gentlemen but I came to race."



Racing officials confabulating to decide if they are going to allow Knox owner/driver Joan Cuneo to play in the same sandbox as the boys.



The answer was "Well, sort of yes but not exactly."
Officials allowed Joan Cuneo to compete "unofficially."
It would be another 11 years before Mrs. Cuneo would be allowed to
vote in an election (1920). 







Cuneo and Louis Disbrow in her Model M Knox at Giant's Despair. Oh man, imagine the fun of driving this magnificent beast in a hill climb. Getting misty just at the thought.

June 12, 1909: Dead Horse Hill Climb, Worcester, Mass.

The 1909 Dead Horse Hill Climb was not an especially successful event for Knox. Billy Bourque crashed during the try-outs, with newspaper accounts indicating he was "badly injured." It is believed that despite the injury he drove later in this event. He then went on to compete at Crown Point, Indiana just a week later, with Harry Holcomb as riding mechanician.

 

 

Spectators arrive and find their spots along the course.
Hill Climbs were big events and part of the sales effort of manufacturers.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

New York Times, 1909

 

 



June 19, 1909: Crown Point Races, Crown Point, Indiana

The Crown Point Races (also known as the Lowell Races) covered a 23.27 mile road course running through Crown Point, Cedar Lake and Lowell, Indiana. The first race was the Indiana Cup race on June 18, 1909. The second race was on June 19 for the Cobe Cup. It covered 17 laps resulting in a race distance just under 400 miles. We join our Knox racers now for the Cobe Cup race.

 

L: Wilfred (William) "Billy" Bourque, Driver
R: Harry A. Holcomb, Riding Mechanician
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Al Denison drives the 50 HP #7 Knox out of "Knox Headquarters." Billy Bourque is standing behind the car.
Unsure if it is Harry Holcomb or Fred Belcher in the car with Denison.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library 

Billy Bourque (L) and Al Denison (R).
Denison is at the wheel of the #7 Knox car, the 50 HP Knox Giant.
The big Knox was a DNF on lap 7 with a broken con rod.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

Al Denison with Mechanician Fred Belcher.
Belcher later went on to drive in the first Indianapolis 500 (1911) in a Knox, setting the record for fastest lap of the day.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library 



Crown Point: Racing teams have taken space in various local businesses for the period of the race.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



Map of the Race Course.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library





The grandstands at the Start/Finish line. The race was just over 395 miles.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



 The #1 car at the starting line. The race had a staggered start with each car leaving the line a designated time ahead of the next. The finishing places would then be determined by time over the course rather than finishing sequence across the line.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

 The #2 Knox at the starting line. The Knox finished ahead of race winner Louis Chevrolet in the #10 Buick but after starting time was factored in the Knox finished in second place by a small margin.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

The #2 Knox leaves the starting line. Only 395 miles to go in an 8-hour gut-busting,
grueling test of man and machine.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 



 The open road. As with most long courses competitors can spend long periods between
fierce wheel-to-wheel dices with a car they're catching or is catching them.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



 The #2 Knox, somewhere in Indiana.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 Still nobody in the mirrors. Wait, what mirrors?
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

 One of the scoreboards along the course.
This photo shows why many people thought the #2 Knox won the race over Louis Chevrolet's #10 car. The Knox was running in first position but when adjusted for their start time they were actually nudged into second.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 How many miles to go?
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 Imagine how much dust you have to eat before you can catch and pass another car.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library



 Pit crews. Note car numbers on the poles.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 The waiting game in the pits.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 Waiting....
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 

 The straight in front of the grandstands.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 Note the scoreboard being updated in center background.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

 Louis Chevrolet, race winner, with Ira Cobe, event promoter.
Image courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library