Morris Park & the Bennett Cup

This May 1905 article from Motor Age covers preparations for the first race of the American auto racing season at Morris Park as well as preparations for the world's biggest auto race of the year, the James Gordon Bennett Cup held in France. The Morris Park track was a horse track dislodged from prominence in that sport by the arrival of the new Belmont facility. Morris Park tried to reinvent itself as the world's first track exclusively designed for auto racing. The Bennett Cup was an invitational to all car manufacturing nations limiting each country to three entries. This became a sore point with France which was the world's leading car manufacturer at the time. With far more marques than any other country, France's industry felt the regulations of the event penalized their success. In response they announced the formation of their own race which eliminated all restrictions on cars representing any single nation. The named the new race the Grand Prix, establishing an approach that became the model of international road racing.