Cruise to the Rock
Thursday, November 24, 2016

To be driving our cars after most everyone else has stopped driving theirs is quite a thrill. The CMGC have a traditional ‘top-down’ cruise to celebrate the first automobile race in America on Thanksgiving Day in 1895. This year was no exception. Of course, the weather was perfect to be out on the road.

Members of the CMGC met at the historical race monument (the rock) at the west side of the Museum of Science and Industry in historic Hyde Park.

Russ Mehaffey put it this way. “When you're empty nesters in Chicago (area), what do you do on Thanksgiving morning? You Cruise to the Rock in Jackson Park, the start/finish point of first automobile race in the US, Thanksgiving Day, 1895. The Chicagoland MG Club was very well represented”!

Just the Facts... 1895 – The first automobile race in America began, as six cars traveled from Jackson Park in Chicago to Waukegan, Illinois. Frank Dureyea was the winner, traveling at a blazing speed of 7-1/2 miles per hour! It took him 7 hours 53 minutes to make the trek. He won $2,000 for the effort.