No Driving Gloves

First American Car RaceInstead of celebrating what happened on this date, today we are actually celebrating what happened on this day, America's first car race on a blizzard-stricken Thanksgiving Day in 1895.The concept for the inaugural American car race was conceived by H.H. Kohlsaat, publisher of the Chicago Times Herald, inspired by a recent race in France. Kolstadt recognized the potential to propel the burgeoning automobile industry and simultaneously boost newspaper sales. A substantial purse of $5,000 (equivalent to nearly $150,000 today) was offered to attract inventors to create functional self-propelled vehicles, with a $2,000 prize (around $50,000 today) for the winner.Initially planned as a 92-mile journey, the route was shortened to 54 miles from Chicago to Evanston and back due to poor road conditions. The event was rescheduled twice – from July 4th to Labor Day and finally to Thanksgiving 1895 – due to competitors requesting more preparation time.A snowstorm struck Chicago on the eve of the ra