The First U.S. Car Race Was Won 125 Years Ago... at 7 mph

Thanksgiving marks the anniversary of America's earliest auto race, a ponderous, icy affair that changed the course of history.

Mark Bechtel|

125 years ago, Thanksgiving saw the birth of a new American sport: auto racing. The first race, a 54-mile round trip journey from Chicago to Evanston and back, wasn’t really about seeing who could drive the fastest. It was about proving to a skeptical public that the newfangled “motocar”—which most Chicagoans had never laid eyes on—was superior to the beloved horse as a mode of transportation.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Published Nov 23, 2020 | Modified Nov 23, 2020

MARK BECHTEL

Mark Bechtel has been a writer and editor at Sports Illustrated for 30 years. He’s covered a variety of sports, including baseball, auto racing, soccer and—his favorite—curling, as well as contributing to the magazine’s media coverage.

Home/Racing