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| On October 10, 1901, Henry Ford and Alexander Winton tangled in a historic auto race. Henry's winning speed, a blistering 44.8 mph, mesmerized the 7,000 in attendance. |
The Race that Changed Everything.
He wasn't exactly the picture of a race car driver on that mild, partly cloudy October afternoon 100 years ago. And for good reason. He wasn't one. Henry Ford was an engineer who saw the automobile as much more than a rich man's toy, and who dreamed of a nation that ran on gasoline instead of oats. He also saw auto racing as a means to jump-start that dream. So, with little preparation and even less caution, he lined up against acclaimed champion Alexander Winton. And, although he was giving up 44 horsepower to the veteran driver, he managed to stay pretty close until Winton's engine faltered in the seventh lap. Henry sprinted home for the win, a victory which turned a lot of heads, including those of the financial backers who set his dream in motion. "The race" launched the career of the man who would personally hold 161 automotive patents, whose assembly line would revolutionize manufacturing, and who would deliver the Model T, the phenomenon that would quite literally put the country, and much of the world, on wheels. And while America who changed profoundly since "the race," the passion with which we race, research and build vehicles, a passion inherited from Henry Ford himself, remains unchanged. <<
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