What's the Elgin National Road Race?

From 1910 until 1920, with the exception of the World War I years—1916, 1917 and 1918, an eight-mile track (actually 8 miles and 2,499 feet) of dirt and a line-up of adrenaline-fueled road racers brought in droves of people to Elgin, Ill. for the Elgin National Road Races. Watching from specially set up grandstands or from some farmer’s field, spectators could watch national racing champions rip around what was a then-rugged route on the west side of the Fox River and what now is Larkin Avenue, McLean Boulevard, Highland Avenue and Coombs Road, competing for the coveted Elgin National Watch Company Trophy.