First U.S. auto raceIn 1895, Frank Duryea won the first American Automobile Race in Chicago, sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald. With his brother Charles, Duryea invented the first automobile that was actually built and operated in the United States. On the day of the race, at 8:55 a.m., six “motocycles”left Chicago's Jackson Park for a 54 mile race to Evanston, Illinois and back through the snow. Duryea's Number 5 won the race in just over 10 hours averaging about 7.3 mph and was awarded a prize of $2,000. Following their victory in the race, the Duryeas manufactured thirteen copies of the Chicago car, and J. Frank Duryea developed the "Stevens-Duryea," an expensive limousine, which remained in production into the 1920s. |
