CHAPTER 1 RACING FROM THE START The first gasoline powered automobile was built around 1885 Ten years later in 1895 Émile Levassor became the first car racing champion The course was more than 700 miles 1 127 km across France Levassor averaged only 15 miles per hour 24 km h And he finished in just under 49 hours The first race cars were no match for those of today
Much has changed since that 1895 race But cars and racing are still very much connected Race cars are automobiles specifically designed for speed Drivers compete in races around the world to see who is the fastest Today's cars can go faster than 200 miles per hour 322 km h Yet all are designed to keep the drivers as safe as possible The car industry was still new in the early 1900s Racing proved to be a good way for companies to show off their new cars Henry Ford used a race car in 1902 to show off his design skills He went on to start what is now Ford Motor Company Race cars have long had the
1 Fans check out a race car before a 1918 race in New York best available technology Many new features were first demonstrated at racetracks Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a famous track It opened in 1909 In the 1920s people began racing their personal cars These are called stock cars But auto racing came to a halt during World War II 1939 1945 Cars were only produced for the war effort
