A new field was thus opened up for sportsmen. In Detroit, William H. Murphy, a prominent citizen, heard of Henry Ford’s car. Murphy and his friends saw an opportunity to get into the racing car business; they formed a company, called the Detroit Automobile Company, with Henry Ford as its chief engineer. At last he could leave the Illuminating Company and devote all of his time to automobiles. It was a bold move for a man with a family to give up a good job. Some of his friends and relatives told each other that he should have stayed where he was. The original investment of Murphy and his friends was not enough. Improvements and changes in the model were made. Even though $68,000 was invested in the company, the hoped for production of many cars never materialized, and in January, 1901, Henry Ford left the Detroit Automobile Company. Henry Ford went to work on a racer which he hoped would bring him new opportunities to manufacture automobiles. His chance came in 1901. It was announced in Detroit that Alexander Winton would race his world champion car, “The Bullet,” at the Grosse Pointe race track, a few miles from the city; Henry Ford challenged the champion. When the day of the race arrived, stores and shops closed, and a parade of sixty-eight cars moved out to Grosse Pointe. Three cars lined up for the ten-mile race, but only Winton and Ford got away. At the end of eight miles, Ford was trailing Winton, but then the “Bullet” began to sputter, and it limped to the finish line behind the racer built by Ford. The newspapers the next day reported that Henry Ford was now in the first rank of American “chauffeurs.” In November, 1901, the Henry Ford Company was organized to manufacture automobiles, but the venture was short-lived, and four months later, Ford was working for himself again. In his small workshop, he went to work on two new racers, the “Arrow” and the “999.” With the help of a draftsman, a mechanic, and a retired bicycle champion, the new cars were made ready for racing. Ford found a bicycle champion, Barney Oldfield, to pilot his “999” in the Manufacturers Challenge Cup Race at Grosse Pointe. This time his car led the field to a new record, finishing a mile in front of his competitors. After the race, A. Y. Malcomson, a Detroit coal dealer, became interested in Henry Ford and his automobiles. The two men became partners in a new venture and Henry Ford began work on a “pilot model” for a new car. During the early months of 1903, more investors were found. By spring, a new company was organized to carry out the plans of Ford and Malcomson.