Ford Racing turns 125 this year, two years older than the company that carries its name. The milestone traces back to a single afternoon in 1901 when Henry Ford climbed into a two-seat machine he called Sweepstakes and set out to prove his ideas worked. On October 10 of that year, at a dusty track in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Ford faced Alexander Winton, the established favorite. Sweepstakes managed speeds approaching 60 miles per hour. Its engine held together when others did not. Ford finished first. That result drew the investors who later helped him open Ford Motor Company in June 1903.
