September 7, 1896 – The first automobile race was held on a closed-circuit track. The course was at the Narragansett Trotting Park in Cranston, Rhode Island. The race competition itself was won by a driver named A. H. Whiting interestingly enough in an electric car built by the Riker Electric Vehicle Company.
That company was founded by a man named Andrew Riker who created the Company in Brooklyn in 1888. In 1894 he built his first four-wheel car by putting a pair of Remington bicycles together powered by an electric motor.
That year he also began building an electric racer that competed against gasoline cars and proved that the electric car could defeat a combustion engine in a short-span race. The economy of fueling it and the longevity of how long it would run before recharging were issues that engineers 125 years later are still coping with.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network

Original Chicago Bulls Threaten Bears: 1926
Some might describe it as a betrayal… Others might simply consider it as a

Remembering the 1990s Chicago Bulls Dynasty
The 2022/23 NBA season is heating up nicely, and there is one team that

3 Surprising Ways Tech Transforms Golf Training
From wooden-shaft clubs to cloud-connected launch monitors, golfers have always chased better ways to

Premium Online Live Casino Game Shows Generate Record Revenue
Online live game shows provide entertainment experiences that combine real-time dealer interaction with transparent

A Look Back At MLB Teams With 100 Wins In A Season
In this article, we’ll go over some MLB history and look at which teams have

Super Bowl XLV (Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers): An Ultimate Recount of the Game
Today we have Super Bowl XLV, which was held on February 6, 2011, at

Sea of Hands Playoff Game – When You Need A Scoring Drive…..
During the 1970s, there were many men who played the position of quarterback in

How Soccer Became The Biggest Sport In The World
Widely regarded as the pinnacle of soccer, the 2022 World Cup, played this year