In 1901, Henry Ford understood the importance of winning automobile races. On October 10 of that year, Henry brought a car of his own design to a one-mile horse racing track on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. He was there to compete in a “sweepstakes,” a head-to-head race against a man named Alexander Winton—one of, if not the most famous racecar driver of the era, and who also happened to run his own successful automobile manufacturing company.

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