At the beginning of the 19th century, the automobile arrived in Richmond. In 1905 the U.S. Department of Commerce listed 500 cars in all of Virginia. As with anything new you have to test them out. So by 1907 there were enough cars in town that somebody decided it would be a good time to see who could drive the fastest.

Members of the Richmond Automobile Club agreed it was a good idea, and if any money was raised, it would be donated to the Home of the Incurables.

The event was to take place on the afternoon of Aug. 8, 1907, at the fair grounds. At the time, the grounds were a 72-acre part of the Bryan estate with a one-mile dirt track and a wooden grandstand seating 3,000. As the News Leader put it: "Just the fact that auto races are to be run in Virginia is enough to attract a large crowd. It’s something the people of this city and state have never before had."

There were to be several individual races: runabouts, touring cars costing $2,000 and under, doctors, free-for-all, and obstacles. The day before, all 50 cars paraded down Broad Street with Major Warner, the police chief, in the first car making sure the entourage traveled at the 8 mph legal speed limit. For those without cars, street cars were available to the fair grounds.

The big day was an ideal day for the races and the crowd, according to the News Leader, "…went wild over the event." The touring car race was a disappointment as there were only two cars entered and one developed motor trouble and had to drop out. It lost the chance to win the prize of metal polish, swim goggles and an auto cap.

The race that seemed to please fans most was the last, the free-for-all. It was won by a Buick driven by C.C. Coddington who raced around the five-mile track in just 7 minutes and 12 seconds. It was also the only race with an accident. A Ford, driven by Howard E. Van Lear, skidded in the back turn and went into the fence knocking down a half-dozen posts.

The News Leader noted: "He was about the gamest chauffeur that ever tooted a horn, though he declared that he was not hurt and asked the physicians to go away."

The event drew such an enthusiastic crowd (estimated at 300) that the Automobile Club planned another meet in September. Today the crowds are j-u-s-t a little larger! FP

Ray Schreiner is a volunteer at the Valentine Richmond History Center and the Virginia Historical Society.