The 1895 Chicago Times Herald Race was the very first American race contest. Held on a cold, windy and snowy Thanksgiving Day in November 1895. The idea for this contest originated from Mr. Herman Henry Kohlsaat, owner of the Chicago newspaper. He was inspired by an article of the French magazine L’Illustration, in which the Paris-Bordeaux race was described. The route was about 50 km long and went through Chicago downtown and along the lakeshore. At the start, only six vehicles appeared; four gasolines and two electrics. Only two, the gasolines,  finished the race at an average speed of some 7 mph or about 10 kmh. Some must have said: These were Days of Snow and Blunder, but in the end, this was the real first American automobile race, showing the potential of these horseless carriages.
   A conscise and wonderfull effective summary on the Times-Herald can be found on „Racing Nellie Bly“: racingnelliebly.com/weirdscience/first-american-car-race