Eat My Dust!
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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
STEP INTO READING, RANDOM HOUSE, and the Random House colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
v3.0
Monica Kulling, Eat My Dust!
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