First-ever automobile race runs from Paris to Rouen

No, not in Daytona Beach...

On July 22, 1894, the world's first-ever automobile race takes place, with 17 of 21 entrants completing the route from Paris to Rouen, France, covering a distance of 126 kilometers, or 78.3 miles. The Concours Paris-Rouen—better known as the Paris-Rouen Trial—paved the way not only for Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500, and all the car races to come, but also heralded the dawn of the motor age by showcasing the automobile’s reliability.