<P> The first prearranged match race of two self - powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4: 30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton - under - Lyne and Old Trafford, a distance of eight miles . It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton . </P> <P> Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline - fueled automobiles . The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier . It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne . </P> <P> On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen . One hundred and two competitors paid a 10 - franc entrance fee . </P> <P> The first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times - Herald race of November 28, 1895 . Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile . </P>

When did car racing become an official sport