Judging from the widespread apathy on display at America’s first organised race, it must have been hard to believe that motoring would ever catch on in that country. Competitors and spectators alike seemed distinctly underwhelmed by the prospect of a 94 mile (151km) round trip from Chicago to Waukegan, with the result that the victorious vehicle in this trailblazing event returned home to little more than polite applause from a handful of hardy souls.
The competition was modelled on the Paris-Rouen Trial, coverage of which had been relayed to the United States by an enthusiastic young New York Herald reporter who followed the drivers part of the way through France on a bicycle. His reports of the adventurers across the Atlantic and of the thousands of people who had turned out to watch spurred American newspapers to attempt something similar. The American counterpart was sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald, and 2 November was set aside for what promised to be one of the most exciting spectacles to grace the city all year. The omens appeared good when over 100 entries were received, but come the day of the ‘exhibition run’, as it was called, only two turned up – a Duryea Motor Wagon, driven by Frank Duryea, and a Mueller-Benz, driven by the designer’s son, Oscar Mueller. This was not exactly the grand pageant that the organisers had in mind. In a decidedly low-key affair, the pair set off from 55th Street on their journey to Waukegan, but, if possible, the finish was even less impressive than the start. For the Duryea broke down, allowing Mueller to come home in splendid isolation and win the reduced prize of $500 which was awarded just for finishing.
The event was such a disappointment that the organisers decided to try again and rescheduled it for 28 November. This time six cars – four petrol and two electric – were set to start before once again fate took a hand, this time in the shape of the weather. Blizzard conditions had deposited 2ft (0.6m) of snow on parts of the city, forcing the route to be shortened to 54 miles (86.9km) – to Evanston and back. Worse still, one of the entries, a de la Vergne-Benz, became stuck in the slush on the way to the start at Jackson Park and had to withdraw. So just five started – Duryea and Mueller again, a Morris and Slalom electric car, a Sturges electric motorcycle, and a Macy-Benz. It was Jerry O’Connor in the Macy-Benz who set the pace, despite an unfortunate incident when he hit a horse-drawn bus, slid over a railroad track and collided with a sleigh carrying journalists. Happily nobody was injured but the Benz’s steering was never quite the same after that. Nevertheless, O’Connor still led Duryea by two minutes at the Evanston turning point. However, on the homeward journey the steering deteriorated to such an extent that he had to retire. This left the way – if not the road – clear for Duryea, profiting from the ingenuity of his brother Charles who used a horse-drawn sleigh to service the car.
Back in Jackson Park, Chicago, the crowd were growing restless. They’d had enough after nearly eight hours of standing in the bitter cold and when dusk arrived with still no sign of the cars, they began to drift home. By the time Duryea eventually arrived, there were barely 50 people to see him cross the finish line. He covered the distance in 8hr 23min at an average speed of just over 6mph (9.7km/h), his efforts earning him the full first prize of $2,000. Nearly half an hour later, the only other finisher, the Mueller-Benz, rumbled into the park, with the race umpire, Charles King, doing the steering. He was using one hand to steer the car and the other to prop up the miserable Mueller, who had collapsed from exposure. All in all, it was an inauspicious climax to a somewhat unsatisfactory event. For American motor sport things could only get better – and fortunately they did.