The Chicago Times Herald Expo Run, 2 November 1895

125 years ago, on 2 November 1895, Oscar Mueller won the “Chicago Times Herald Expo Run” at the wheel of a Benz Vis-à-Vis. This very first automotive race in the history of the United States of America took contestants from Chicago to Waukegan and back, covering a distance of 92 miles (approximately 148 kilometres). Publisher Herman Henry Kohlsaat organised the event with a mere two starters. Only Mueller, the son of an industrialist, reached the finish line after more than eight hours. A few weeks later, on 28 November 1895, he raced to second place at the “Chicago Times Herald Contest”, an event dominated by gales and frost. These events also marked the start of motorsport history in America – just eighteen months after the first ever automotive race in history from Paris to Rouen on 22 July 1894