Eat My Dust! Read online

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  For my brother Michael, charmed by cars,

  and for Shana Corey, charming editor

  —M.K.

  For two of the most interesting and likable

  people I know—my brothers, Bill and John

  —R.W.

  With special thanks to Mark Patrick, Curator of the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library, for his time and expertise in reviewing this book.

  Henry Ford liked to drive.

  He liked to drive into town.

  People got excited

  when they saw him.

  “There is that crazy Henry

  driving his horseless buggy

  again,” they said.

  Ladies ran for the sidewalk.

  Men leaped for cover.

  Dogs barked.

  Horses reared.

  Henry liked driving into town.

  Henry had built

  his car by himself.

  It ran on gas.

  It did not have brakes.

  Henry stopped his car

  by turning off the engine.

  Then he jumped out.

  Henry tied his car to a post—

  just like a horse—

  so it would not roll away.

  Everyone wished

  Henry would go back

  to driving a horse and buggy.

  But Henry loved cars.

  He loved driving them.

  And he loved building them.

  Other people were

  building cars, too.

  Their cars cost a lot of money.

  They always needed repairs.

  Since most people

  did not know how to drive,

  car owners hired drivers.

  Only the rich

  could afford to own a car.

  Henry had a dream.

  He wanted to build a car

  everyone could own.

  Henry needed money

  to build his dream car.

  How could he get it?

  He decided to enter a race.

  Henry had never

  raced a car in his life!

  Car racing was a new sport.

  People dressed up

  for a day at the races.

  They cheered the fastest car

  to victory.

  “If I win the race,”

  Henry told his wife, Clara,

  “I will be able to build

  my new car.”

  Henry and a mechanic

  named Spider Huff

  went to work.

  They put a twenty-six-

  horsepower engine

  in their race car.

  One horsepower equaled

  the pulling power

  of one horse.

  That meant Henry’s car

  could beat any horse—

  in seconds flat!

  People laughed

  at Henry.

  “You’ll never beat

  the Daredevil!”

  they said.

  The Daredevil

  was Alexander Winton.

  He was the American

  racing car champion.

  “I can beat him,” said Henry.

  “My car is built better.”

  Clara nodded.

  She wanted only one thing.

  She wanted Henry

  to drive safely.

  The races were held at a track

  near Detroit, Michigan.

  Henry entered

  the ten-mile race.

  The prize was $1,000.

  Eight thousand people

  filled the stands that day.

  The ten-mile race

  was the last race of the day.

  Henry and Winton

  were the only racers

  on the track.

  The Daredevil

  smiled at Henry.

  He tipped his hat.

  Henry tipped his hat

  and smiled back.

  “On your marks!”

  shouted the starter.

  Henry gripped

  the steering wheel.

  “Start your engines!”

  Spider cranked the engine.

  Henry’s racer roared to life.

  Bang!

  The starter’s pistol went off.

  Henry and Winton

  shot down the track!

  The crowd cheered.

  Most were cheering

  for Winton.

  They were sure

  he would win.

  The two cars

  raced side by side.

  Up ahead lay the first curve.

  Winton was a pro.

  He knew how to drive

  around a bend

  without slowing down.

  Henry did not.

  He had to cut the engine.

  Then he made

  a slow, wide turn.

  “Lean out!”

  shouted Henry.

  Spider stood

  on the running board.

  He leaned out.

  Henry took the curve.

  Spider’s weight

  kept the racer

  from tipping over.

  Winton was ahead.

  Henry stepped on the gas.

  He sped down the track.

  His car caught up

  with Winton’s.

  The cars raced

  around the track

  five more times.

  The racers were

  on their last lap.

  The finish line was in sight.

  Suddenly black smoke

  covered the track.

  Henry could not see.

  Was his car in trouble?

  Was the engine overheating?

  Was the race to build

  his dream car over?

  No. r />
  Winton’s car

  was in trouble.

  It was burning oil.

  Suddenly

  the engine stalled.

  Winton’s car rolled to a stop.

  Henry roared past

  in a cloud of dust!

  “Yippee!”

  he shouted with glee.

  The crowd went wild.

  Men threw their hats

  in the air.

  Women stood on their chairs

  to get a better view.

  Henry had won

  his first car race!

  Henry Ford was the new

  American racing car champion!

  The next day,

  Henry’s name and picture

  were in all the newspapers.

  He had won the money.

  He had also won a beautiful

  crystal punch bowl.

  Clara placed the bowl

  on the table

  for visitors to see.

  Henry built his dream car.

  He called it the Model T.

  It came in one color—black.

  The Model T

  was easy to drive.

  It was easy to repair.

  People loved it.

  They called it

  the Tin Lizzie.

  Henry Ford drove

  his Tin Lizzie into town.

  People got excited

  when they saw him.

  Ladies waved.

  Men honked.

  Henry was happy.

  He had built a car

  everyone could own.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This is a true story.

  The race was held

  on October 10, 1901.

  Henry used the prize money

  to build the Ford Motor Company.

  Henry Ford’s Model T

  was a car everyone could own.

  And almost everyone did.

  This is a photo of the actual race. Henry is just about to pass Winton. If you look closely, you can see Spider on the running board!

  Photo credit: From the Collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.

  Text copyright © 2004 by Monica Kulling. Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Richard Walz. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York., and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Kulling, Monica.

  Eat my dust! : Henry Ford’s first race / by Monica Kulling ; illustrated by Richard Walz.

  p. cm. — (Step into reading. A step 3 book)

  SUMMARY: Relates the excitement caused by Henry Ford as he drove the “horseless carriage” he built, particularly when he decided to win a race to get money to build a new car that anyone could afford.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-55583-0

  1. Ford, Henry, 1863–1947—Juvenile literature. 2. Automobile engineers—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. Automobiles, Racing—Juvenile literature. [1. Ford, Henry, 1863–1947. 2. Automobile racing—History. 3. Automobiles, Racing. 4. Industrialists. 5. Automobile industry and trade—Biography.]

  I. Title. II. Series: Step into reading. Step 3 book.

  TL140.F6K85 2004 338.7’6292’092—dc21 2003001190

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  Monica Kulling, Eat My Dust!

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