Chicago Times-Herald race

[1] The race created considerable publicity for the motocycle, which had been introduced in the United States only two years earlier.

On July 10, 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald announced a race to be held in the city, prizes totaling $5,000 (approximately $183,100 in 2023).

The promotion was an attempt to foster the growth of the young auto industry in the United States and to boost newspaper sales.

After considerable wrangling, the editors decided to call it a Moto Cycle race and first used the term in a July 15 article.

[1] The original course of the race was to run from Chicago north to Milwaukee, but the roads were found to be too poor for early cars to traverse easily.

The finish line was near what is now the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (what had been the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 Columbian Exposition).

Elwood Haynes' car, which was a favorite to win the race, was damaged en route and unable to compete.

They were forced to requisition horses to pull the cars because, as the police informed them, they had no right to drive their vehicles on the city streets.

The success of the race sped up the rate of automobile development by at least five years in the United States due to the event's publicity.

The test took precedence in the rules, but the remarkable run made by Duryea and Mueller compelled substantial recognition.