On this day in…
1807
217 years ago
Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland test drove his road carriage powered by an internal combustion engine Read more…
1908
116 years ago
Vincenzo Trucco in a Isotta-Fraschini (4 min 53 sec) won the final Padova – Bovolenta 10km race in Italy, followed by Nando Minoia in an Isotta-Fraschini and Domenico Piccoli in a SPA. Read more…
1909
115 years ago
The Rolls Royce Silver Rogue, driven by Percy Northey to victory in the 1908 Scottish Reliability Trial, was sold as a used car in London, England Read more…
1916
108 years ago
Ralph Mulford broke the stock car speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida, US, covering a flying mile at 102 Read more…
1921
103 years ago
Ralph DePalma won the 24th and final race of his Champ Car career in Beverly Hills, California setting a career record for wins that would not be topped until 1963 Read more…
1921
103 years ago
Jimmy Murphy drove his Duesenberg to victory in a 50 mile AAA Championship race at Los Angeles Motor Speedway Read more…
1922
102 years ago
Horsedrawn fire fighting apparatus was used for the last time in Detroit, Michigan, US Read more…
1938
86 years ago
The first hillclimb event at Prescott, Gloucestershire, England was staged, on what is now the Short Course (880 yards) Read more…
1938
86 years ago
The Pau Grand Prix at Pau was won by René Dreyfus driving a Delahaye 145 Read more…
1944
80 years ago
Henry Ford II was named executive vice president of the Ford Motor Company Read more…
1947
77 years ago
Ford Motor Company’s factories and offes were closed for the day and all ther automobile plants shut down their assembly lines for one minute as a tribute to Henry Ford during his funeral in Detroit, Michigan, US Read more…
1950
74 years ago
Tazio Nuvolari competed in his last automobile race, winning the 1 Read more…
1950
74 years ago
The Pau Grand Prix, a Non-Championship Formula One motor race was held at the Pau circuit, in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France Read more…
1950
74 years ago
The 2nd Richmond Trophy, a non-championship Formula One race held at Goodwood Circuit, West Sussex, England Read more…
1951
73 years ago
Henry J Kaiser married Alyce Chester less than one month after the death of his first wife Read more…
1965
59 years ago
Lloyd “Lucky” Casner (36) , owner of the Camoradi MotorRacing Division team, died from injuries suffered in a crash during practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Read more…
1969
55 years ago
Harley Jefferson Earl (75), American car designer, died Read more…
1972
52 years ago
Italian Fiat executive Oberdan Sallustro (56) was executed by Argentine Communist guerrillas 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires Read more…
1978
46 years ago
The first American-made Volkswagen rolled off the assembly line in Pennsylvania Read more…
1979
45 years ago
A bus carrying children plunged into a river in Spain killing 48, including 44 children Read more…
1980
44 years ago
William Clay Ford was named Vice Chairman of the Ford Motor Company Read more…
1981
43 years ago
Henry Ford II rejected Chrysler Corporation’s offer to merge Read more…
1983
41 years ago
Bob Tullius and Bill Adam drove the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 to victory in the IMSA race at Road Atlanta in Brazelton, Georgia, USA Read more…
1983
41 years ago
Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race was held at Brands Hatch Read more…
1983
41 years ago
Harry Gant swept to the lead when Darrell Waltrip’s car developed ignition trouble with two laps left, scoring his third win in NASCAR’s premier series in the TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway, South Carolina, US Read more…
1989
35 years ago
Rick Wilson captured his first career NASCAR Xfinity (Busch Grand National) Series win in the Budweiser 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Steve Grissom won the Mountain Dew 400 at Hickory Motor Speedway for his seventh of 11 career NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series wins Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Larry Dixon mades the first “4 Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Jason Keller led 182 laps from the pole and held off Dale Earnhardt Jr Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Mazda agreed to participate in the joint project for the test run of fuel-cell vehicles in cooperation with DaimlerChrysler Japan and Nippon-Mitsubishi Oil. Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Bobby Hamilton led 179 laps to score his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors (Craftsman) Truck Series win in the NAPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Michael Waltrip inherited victory when the top four cars crashed on the second to last lap in the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Jeff Gordon came back from being three laps down and held off Kasey Kahne at the finish to win the Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway Read more…
2006
18 years ago
Aston Martin and Nokia launched the limited edition Nokia 8800 Aston Martin Edition mobile phone Read more…
2008
16 years ago
Iran reported that the SenIran Auto plant in Thies, Senegal’s second largest city, had built its first Iran-Khodro Samand sedan Read more…
2010
14 years ago
Ryan Newman returned to Victory Lane for the first time in 77 races after he took advantage of a late-race caution and a two-tire pit stop to win the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix Raceway Read more…
2015
9 years ago
Erik Jones picked up his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Read more…
