On 28 November 1895, FRANK DURYEA won the first motor-car race in the United States. FRANK, along with his brother Charles, had built the first gasoline-powered automobile in America just two years earlier. The race was sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald newspaper, and over 80 entries were submitted. But since almost all of those cars were homebuilt, only six vehicles were ready on race day: DURYEA in his Motorized Wagon, three German-built Benz automobiles, and two electric cars. The weather on race day was terrible, with six inches of fresh snow on the ground. The race course was a 54-mile loop along the lakeshore, from Chicago to Evanston and back. The two electric cars died almost immediately, but the other four raced off into the snow. One of the Benz vehicles became stuck in a snowdrift, and in another one the driver passed out from the cold. 10 hours and 23 minutes after the start, FRANK DURYEA and his mechanic, Arthur Rice, crossed the finish line, winning the race. The only other car to finish, a Benz driven by Oscar Mueller, crossed the finish line 90 minutes later - although Mueller himself was unconscious, having passed out from all the excitement. But the race accomplished what the Times-Herald hoped it would: It introduced Americans to the motor-wagon and proved once and for all that the days of the horse and buggy were numbered.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:30:42 +0000
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