In the early 1900's, Britain's extremely strict and oppressive speed limit laws pretty much squashed the rise of any would-be street racers, and with no tracks yet built for speed demons to do their thing, British automobile racing was all but dead on arrival. Then, in 1902, the 8th Earl De La Warr hosted a drag race at the Bexhill cycle path, with autos reaching top speeds of 54 miles per hour. The rest, as they say, is history.
