130 Years Ago, the First American Car Race Ended in Disaster

On November 2, 1895, America was about to witness a historic moment: its very first automobile race.

The Chicago Times-Herald Contest was set to mark the beginning of a new automotive era. On paper, this competition was to feature about ten motor vehicles racing over a course of 85 km between Chicago and Evanston. In reality, it was mainly the bitter cold and amateurism that prevailed.

That morning, barely two cars were ready to start: a Benz imported from Germany and a Duryea built in Massachusetts. The other competitors, delayed by breakdowns or technical problems, were notably absent. The organizing newspaper, caught off guard, had to postpone the race to a later date, leaving Chicago with a ghostly display of exhausted machinery.

The event was eventually rescheduled for November 28, Thanksgiving Day. This time, six cars managed, more or less, to set off into the freezing cold. Of the 92 kilometers planned, only the Duryea managed to complete the course after nearly ten hours of driving… at an average speed of 11 km/h! Enough to put the feats of our modern hypercars into perspective.

Despite this fiasco, this first attempt marks a symbolic milestone. It shows that the motor car was no longer just an inventor’s whim, but an object destined to transform mobility. And even if America’s first race was mostly remembered for its failures, it paved the way for a century of competition and innovation.

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So, on November 2, the United States experienced its first mechanical flop… and unknowingly laid the foundation for the American automotive dream.

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