Oldfield Takes Manufacturer's Challenge Cup

This is a must read article for historians of early auto racing.
 
This was the pivitol event that launched Barney Oldfield's career. The race occurred in October 1902 and pitted Oldfield against Alexander Winton at the Grosse Pointe track near Detroit. Winton was recognized as America's greatest auto racing driver. As a 40 year old millionaire and founder of the then mighty Winton Motor Carriage Company, Winton seemed untouchable. Driving Henry Ford's first purpose-built race car, the "999," Oldfield toppled Winton from his perch and became a nationally recognized sports figure embarking on one of the longest careers of a race driver of the pre-WWI era.