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It's October 10th, 1901, at a horse track in Detroit, Michigan, where the city's first car races

are underway. 38-year-old Henry Ford nervously grips the wheel of his self-built racer

as it's rolled out to the starting line. Today is his first ever race, and he has stiff competition.

Next to him is his sole competitor in one of the reigning monarchs of early American racing,

Alexander Winton. Feeling the lawn beside them is a crowd of uninterested spectators.

People flock to the racetrack, selling out the event with high hopes of seeing the still novel

automobile in action. But so far, the event hasn't been all it's cracked up to be.

The preliminary races have been long and lackluster, with one car winning at a pace slower than

a human running on foot. So to perk up the crowd, the contest's clear favorite, Alexander

Winton, got behind the wheel and broke a world speed record. But the thrill has already worn off.

Now Henry watches the spectators yon and talk amongst themselves, exhausted from a long and slow

afternoon. But as the two racers start their engines, crowd's eyes dart back to the track,

where a David and Colliath battle is about to unfold. As the drivers set off around the track,

Alexander takes an early lead while the inexperienced Henry lagged behind, losing ground at every turn.

But as they complete more laps, Henry grows confident. He starts to close the gap. And while Henry

catches up, Alexander's car begins to fail. Smoke billows from his engine while Henry's car

demonstrates pure mechanical prowess. He shoots past Alexander and as Henry crosses the finish line

in first place, the crowd goes wild. Henry Ford's victory will earn him $50 and a legion of new fans,

sparking an illustrious racing career and with it fresh opportunities. After years of failed

...