On this day in…
1859
165 years ago
Edwin Drake struck oil at a depth of 69 feet near Titusville, Pennsylvania, the world’s first successful oil well Read more…
1899
125 years ago
A handicap race between walkers, cycles, motorcycles and cars was staged from Paris to Trouville (104 miles) Read more…
1900
124 years ago
The first long distance bus service in Great Britain was founded by A E Wynn of Knarsborough, Yorkshire to serve the route between London to Leeds Read more…
1904
120 years ago
Newport, Rhode Island, imposed the first jail sentence in the US for a speeding violation Read more…
1909
115 years ago
The Houpt-Rockwell made its debut in a 24-hour race at Brighton Beach, New York, US, but the care driven by George Robertson failed to finish Read more…
1910
114 years ago
The first Elgin Road Races were staged in Illinois, US Read more…
1910
114 years ago
The first Elgin Road Races were staged in Illinois, US Read more…
1910
114 years ago
The first Elgin Road Races (Illinois, US) were staged Read more…
1910
114 years ago
The first American LaFrance motorised fire truck was sold to Lenox (MA) Fire Department in the US and is still owned by the department Read more…
1912
112 years ago
Thomas Wilby began the first trans-Canada automobile trip Read more…
1918
106 years ago
United States Fuel Administration banned Sunday driving east of the Mississippi Read more…
1926
98 years ago
Captain R Read more…
1932
92 years ago
Three-letter car number plates were introduced in Britain; the first issued in London was AMY 1.This scheme placed a serial letter before the code, and had the sequence number run only to 999, thus restricting the number of characters in a registration to six Read more…
1936
88 years ago
Goldie Gardner driving an MG set the all-time Brooklands record for Class G (under 1100 cc) of 124 Read more…
1938
86 years ago
Captain George Eyston established a new land speed record of 345 Read more…
1948
76 years ago
Henry Austin Clark opened the Long Island Automotive Museum in Southampton, New York (US) on his 31st birthday Read more…
1950
74 years ago
The twelfth race of the 1950 NASCAR season was run at Hamburg Speedway in Hamburg, New York, US Read more…
1954
70 years ago
C Stanley Sundling, President of the Laboratory Equipment Company and a member of the AAA Contest Board Technical Committee for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, was killed aged 45 in an automobile accident near Crystal Lake, Illinois Read more…
1961
63 years ago
Junior Johnson took the lead in the 33rd lap and stormed to victory in a 200-lap main event at South Boston (Virginia, US) Speedway Read more…
1963
61 years ago
Ford introduced the fiberglass Allegro sport coupe, a one-off styling exercise that would greatly influence the Mustang Read more…
1967
57 years ago
The first ever Canadian Grand Prix was held at Mosport Park Read more…
1972
52 years ago
Clive Skilton lost to Dennis Priddle in the first side by side six second race at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire Read more…
1978
46 years ago
Don Vesco averaged 318 Read more…
1978
46 years ago
Mario Andretti won the Dutch Grand Prix Read more…
1987
37 years ago
1988
36 years ago
General Motors introduced the Opel Vectra and Vauxhall Cavalier to the western European market Read more…
1989
35 years ago
Murray Walker was left to commentate on the Belgian Grand Prix by himself after his fellow BBC employee James Hunt failed to turn up Read more…
1989
35 years ago
The first seven second Pro Mod run was recorded at the Santa Pod Raceway Summernationals, Northamptonshire, England Read more…
1993
31 years ago
The one-millionth Ford Explorer was produced at Louisville (Kentucky) Assembly Plant Read more…
1993
31 years ago
General Motors sold its Group Lotus subsidiary to Bugatti International SAH, the new Bugatti group’s financial holding company headquartered in Luxembourg Read more…
1995
29 years ago
Over 100,000 spectators at Spa watched in awe as Michael Schumacher won the Belgium Grand Prix from 16th on the grid Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher went head-to-head at the Belgian Grand Prix, producing the overtaking manoeuvre of the season Read more…
2006
18 years ago
The Turkish Grand Prix marked the first race victory, and also the first pole position, for Felipe Massa, who drove for the Ferrari team Read more…
2007
17 years ago
Leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron called for young offenders to be barred from driving as part of a programme to tackle antisocial behaviour. Read more…
