Vintage speed demons

The modern automobile wasn’t even 10 years old before early enthusiasts held a race in Chicago. Six cars barreled through the city streets at harrowing speeds — 5mph! — on a cold Thanksgiving Day in 1895, speeding into the history books with the first auto race. That was just the start. Whether it was on a dirt track in Elgin or the famed bricks of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, men and women risked their lives in the pursuit of innovation, speed and victory.