History:
Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled automobiles before that time people raced in other vehicles such as horse-drawn buggies. The first race ever organized was on April 28, 1887 by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton, in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up it is rather pointless to call it a race.
On July 22, 1894 the first real contest was a reliability test from 'Paris to Rouen', (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux (Horseless Carriage Competition)), organised by the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal. The Comte Jules-Albert de Dion was first to arrive in Rouen on his steam car, but a Panhard et Levassor was judged to be the winner.
In 1895, the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Trial was held and this was the first real race as all competitors started together. The winner was Émile Levassor in his Panhard-Levassor 1205 cc model. He completed the course (1,178 km or 732 miles) in 48 hours and 47 minutes, finishing nearly six hours before the runner-up.
The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897 as a "Speed Week." To fill out the schedule, most types of racing event were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice - La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.
An international competition, between nations rather than individuals, began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.
The first auto race in the United States took place in Chicago, Illinois. The course went from the South side of the city, North along the lakefront to Evanston, Illinois and back again on November 28, 1895 over an 54.36 mile(87.48 km) course, with Frank Duryea winning in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating three petrol-fueled and two electric cars.
