Arizona republican., 1909-08-20
THE SPEEDWAY
 CHR|STENED With Life Blood of Two of the
 Knox Team THE USUAL FATAL FENCE
Opening of the First Days Motor Racing at Indian apolis = Much Heralded Course Was Found to Have Many Defects.

Indianapolis, Aug. 19.-Two lives
 were lost at the opening of the new
 Indianapolis motor speedway today.
 William. .Bourque, driver of Knox
 car in the 25O-mile race, and Harry
 Holcomb, his mechanician. were killed
 by crashing into a fence.
 Two records were broken. Barney | Oldfield, driving a high power Benz, covered a mile in 43 1-1O, breaking De
 Palma's mark of 51, and Louis Chev- ! rolet, in a Buick, made 10 miles in s:56 4-1O, cutting Oldfield's time of 9:12 Robert Burman won the 25O- mile race, the feature of the day.
 It was this contest that cost Bourque and HolcOmb their lives. The winners time was 4:36: 56 40, slow because of the many accidents that marred the race. The Stoddard Dayton, with Gle ments. was second. in 4:46:O1 S-10, and the National (Merz) finished third, in 4:52:39 7-10. Another National was the only car of the ten starters to fin ish
 The death of the two men caused the American Automobile association to inform the owners of the track that certain changes must be made by to- morrow or the sanction for the re- maining events will be withdrawn. The association demands that the track be freed from its many dangerous ruts and that every inch of 1t be thoroughly oiled and tafred. Today only a short portion in front of the grandstand was oiled and the dust on the other parts is blamed for the collapse of the drivers in the long race, Louis Chevrolet and Fred Ellis, who were blinded by the dense white dust that covered the major portion of the track.
 The Knox car was in second place. with Burman, in his Buick, leading, and had covered nearly 150 miles when the crash came. While coming down the home stretch, the car sud denly swerved and tore into the fence at the left of the track turning com pletely over and pinning its two oecu- pants beneath it. Both men were alive when taken from under the wreck, but Bourque died in the ambulance on the way to an emergency hospital. Hol- comb died few minutes after he ar rived at the hospital. Bourque was 26 years old and lived at Springfield. Mass. HOlcomb was g years old and lived at Grandville Mass. Both men were unmarried.
 Albert Denison, the racing partner of Bourque, collapsed after the acci- dent The sight of the men lying dead was too much for the friend of both, who has been called upon so often to face death in the same man ner Louis Chevrolet the French driver of the Buick team, was led into the hospital, almost blinded, with the tar and dust from the track, shortly af- ter the two men had been killed
 As a result of the two deaths, the Knox company has withdrawn all en- tries for the next two days. and it will probably never again enter its cars in a race. ....-
 The following cars started in the 25O mile contest Knox CBourque); Ma tional (Kincaid); National (MOrse); Stoddard Dayton CMiner); Buick Burman); Buick (Strang); Buick (Chevrolet); Jackson (Ellis); Stod- dard- Dayton CCIements). Strang was the first to come to grief. as his car caught fire before he had completed one lap. He was delayed some time by this and the officials at first re- fused to allow him to continue, as he and his mechanician had been aided by the track volunteer fire company in extinguishing the blaze. After long discussion, Strang was allowed to continue, but the remainder of the field had then gained about fifteen miles on him, and he dropped out.
 Chevrolet dashed into the lead at the start and held it for 52 laps, or more than half the race, with the brief ex- ception of the 18th and 16th laps, when he relinquished it to his teammate. Burman, the winner When he was blinded by dust, he was led from the track, and his car was withdrawn. Miller, in a Stoddard- Dayton, also gave up.
 It was in the second event--a ten mile. race for stripped classis-that the first record was broken. Chevrolet won easily and apparently with little difficulty in cutting Oldfields record from 912 to S:56 4-5. This race was a clean sweep for the Bucks. as Strang finished second, and Burman third.
 The closest race came in the five mile stripped chassis event, won by Burman in Buick, after a fierce struggle with Bourque. The two mighty cars tore around the track
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