A Brief History
On November 28, 1895, the first American auto race took place, the Chicago Times-Herald Race, a 54 mile event with a grand prize of $5,000. (If that prize sounds lame, remember that this is worth over $140,000 in today’s money.)
Digging Deeper
As the automobile was a new-fangled invention at the time, a proper name for the motorized conveyance had not yet been agreed upon and the Times-Herald called their event a “Moto-cycle Race.” Originally meant to be a race from Chicago to Milwaukee, the roads of the day were not smooth enough for those primitive cars to traverse, so the race was shortened to only 54 miles from a point in Chicago to Evanston (a suburb) and back.
Problems started before the race, originally scheduled for November 2. Many of the entrant vehicles were not complete and ready by race time, and a couple of the entrants were stopped by Chicago police on their way to the start point and ordered to have their cars towed by horses the rest of the way! Race organizers had to convince the Chicago City Council to pass an ordinance to allow motor vehicles on the streets so the race could be run.
Finally ready to go on November 28, by this time the weather had made the roads muddy and snowy. Despite 83 entrants, only 6 vehicle showed up to race, 3 four wheeled cars made by Karl Benz, a four wheeled car made and driven by Charles Duryea, and 2 two wheeled motorcycles. One of the racers was electric powered and ran out of juice almost immediately due to the cold weather. A Benz car hit a horse near the beginning and was out of the race. The other motorcycle could not manage a hill on the course.
Duryea led the other 2 Benz cars across the finish line in a blazing time of 7 hours and 53 minutes, only about 7 mph. The second place Benz finished over an hour later, with a replacement driver due to the original driver passing out because of the cold. Only those 2 entrants completed the race.
Despite what we today may consider a disastrous race, the newspapers of the day trumpeted the results across the country and people were impressed by the ability of the 2 cars to negotiate the mud and foul weather. Auto production started only a year later on a commercial basis and the rest is history (so to speak). Needless to say, Americans have been racing autos and motorcycles ever since, and today motorized vehicle racing is one of America’s most popular sports. The Indy 500, Daytona 500, and Cannonball Run all owe their heritage to this humble start.
Question for students (and subscribers): Do you have a favorite auto or motorcycle race? Share your answer with us in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
King, Charles B. A Golden Anniversary 1895-1945: Personal Side Lights of America’s First Automobile Race. Publ. by Author, 1945.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="12322 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=12322">26 Comments
This was an entertaining story! It is crazy to think how a drawn-out race like this has transformed into the Daytona 500.
I am surprised it was not more organized and coordinated with the Chicago police before the race started. People who watch car races today can definitely be thankful that we do not run into nearly as many problems as they did back then!
In a time where cars were still something very new, I can only imagine how entertaining the thought of this race was for spectators during this period. Its crazy to think that the race took more than 7 hours though! They were determined to win, thats for sure.
Crazy to read that there were 83 entrants but only 6 cars showed up to race and only 2 ended up completing the race. Auto races have definitely come a long way!
Traveling a distance of about 108 miles took 7+ hours back during that first race! Today that would seem crazy to just an average driver, not even a race car driver. The auto industry has evolved so much and so has our road system which allows cars to travel far distances daily.
This race was more eventful than most NASCAR races. There was a crash, engine failures, a driver passing out. I feel bad for the poor horse though.
Being from the suburbs of Chicago it is crazy to me that it would take eight hours to get to Evanston and back! Also the fact that the race took place with only six vehicles, all of different make, is pretty crazy as well.
This story definitely shows the evolution of cars. Today we cannot even imagine a race being completed after 7 hours with 7 mph. Car races, even though extremely dangerous are exciting to me. It was really interesting reading about that the first auto race happened in one of my favorite cities. Since the prize as so big I am kind of surprised that only six out of the 83 entrants showed up.
Sitting in the automobile for over 7 hours going only 7 mph I would have gone mad. I agree with Matt though, that race back then was even more eventful than NASCAR races today.
My grandpa used to drive stock cars when he was younger and my grandma still loves watching NASCAR, so I think racing lives in my blood. I cannot believe that even though only two cars finished the race, it was herald as a success! That would never happen today.
This aritcle is so funny! This car race is a far cry from the racing that’s goes on today. It’s crazy they had to get special permission to clear the rodes of horses to allow cars on them! I can’t believe out of 83 entrants only a few made it to the race and it took 7 hours.
The race does indeed sound like a disastrous one. The car that won the race was traveling at a top speed of 7mph. Out of the 6 vehicles that showed up to the race only two of them finished it. Charles Duryea came in first place with a time of 7 hours and 53 minutes. The news was plastered on newspapers all over the world and many people were surprised to see that these cars could make such a trek in that time even with the bad weather. Even though this seems slow, many people still go this speed when it snows.
The race in Chicago was hilarious to me because only 6 riders of almost 90 applicants actually started the race. The drivers could not take the intense cold and only 2 drivers finished the race. That is comical to me and it took the 2 drivers to finish almost 60 miles in almost 8 hours. Going the speed limit today that would take the average driver an hour at max.
I find it hysterical that only 2 cars made it, but based on the technology of the time that makes sense! I can’t believe it took them 7 hours…I’m glad we’ve upgraded since then.
The weather must have been terrible for so few participants to show up for the race. For $140,000 it would be foolish to not attend, despite rough weather conditions. The electric car dying almost immediately because of the cold weather is unfortunate for that driver. As commercial auto production began the following year, certainly many of the issues the cars during the race faced were sorted out.
It is funny to think that they were trumpeting the results throughout the country and were impressed by the two cars making it through the snow and mud to cross the finish line. Today, that race would seem to be unsuccessful. It is interesting to see how things have changed over time and the advancements we have made with car technology.
It seems that for the first race there were a lot of struggles. From the roads not being good to the people not being allowed to race their vehicles. It took about twenty-six days for everything to be finalized and have the six competitors race.
Sounds like the race from the Little Rascals. I couldn’t imagine sitting in a car, racing for almost 8 hours. It’s so cool to see how far the racing industry has come.
Peyton is spot on with his comparison to the race from the Little Rascals! How crazy is it that people were impressed and celebrating because two people completed this race? If only these people knew what racing was like now!
A race with cars that only travel 7 mph….I hope the crowd wasn’t in the cold for the whole race! It’s amazing to see how far the racing circuits have come since the first ever race. In today’s Indy Car Racing, speeds of up to 230 mph are possible.
I am not sure why they ran the race in winter. You would think an event so important and covered would have taken place in the summer. But I guess that showed the true power of the car, with commercial production starting a year later.
7 mph compared to the triple digits that we see today is crazy. This must have been amazing to experience at the time, but standards have definitely changed.
Although still very dangerous today, especially with the different velocity of the cars, I feel that back then it was way more dangerous because they did not have the kind of safety gear and crew that these races have today.
I love the competition so early on. Just after being invented, people wanted to know who was the best. Amazing to hear one of the first race vehicles was electric as well.
Find it odd why you wouldn’t hold this during nicer weather like umm maybe the summer months.
I have no idea why they choose to do the competition in the winter. It was just asking for disaster.