Alexander Winton
American engineerWikipedia
9
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5
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Search complete. 9 mentions across 5 episodes found for "Alexander Winton".
Oct 2, 2026
speaker_0NARRATOR
Ford designed and built a series of race cars in October of nineteen oh one.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Driving a car he'd named Sweepstakes, he beat one of the most famous drivers of the era, Alexander Winton, in a race outside Detroit.
speaker_0NARRATOR
It was a huge publicity win, and it gave Ford's reputation and his fundraising prospects new life.
speaker_0NARRATOR
One month lat-later, riding that momentum, he founded his second company, the Henry Ford Company.
Zach RedpathHOST
But they're out there
James PumphreyHOST
... yeah, there was one guy who's already getting a lot of attention for racing cars, and this guy's name is Alexander Winton.
Vin AnatraHOST
The Winton.
Vin AnatraHOST
That sounds really familiar.
James PumphreyHOST
So he's pretty much forgotten these days, but Alexander Winton was once motorsports' most popular driver.
Vin AnatraHOST
[laughs]
James PumphreyHOST
He had-
25 MINS LATER
James PumphreyHOST
the bicycle was brand new.
Ted RyanGUEST
You're correct.
Ted RyanGUEST
October 10th was the day that Henry Ford shocked the world and particularly Alexander Winton, who did not expect to be defeated.
Ted RyanGUEST
He actually picked out the prize that he was going to get before the race and sweepstakes churned away to victory.
John HindhaughHOST
How significant was that? I mean, effectively, that's 125 years of Ford racing.
John HindhaughHOST
But it couldn't, surely couldn't have been any more important to Ford because Mr. Ford had had a couple of goes at getting what became the Ford Motor Company up and running, had he not?
Ted RyanGUEST
He did, and I think it's telling that Ford Racing is in the DNA of Ford Motor Company because Henry Ford raced in sweepstakes two years before the company was even founded.
Ted RyanGUEST
He took the winnings, $1,000, which was quite a chunk of money at the time, and the crystal vase that he took away from Alexander Winton that is missing in time, by the way.
Ted RyanGUEST
And he founded the auto company, which, of course, promptly failed.
Kris ClewellHOST
They were slow, expensive, and not very good.
Kris ClewellHOST
When in October of that year, Ford beat Alexander Winton, the biggest name in American racing, in a 10-mile race at Grosse Pointe.
Kris ClewellHOST
And overnight, he's famous.
Kris ClewellHOST
And Murphy and Bowen decided to go back to him again.