There is some dispute among historians as to when the Planet Races series began, but there is overall agreement that it started with humans -- those speed and risk loving bipeds from Earth and her colonies. The idea for racing on a planetary scale came from bored Earth survey teams, which, while out surveying various planets for possible colonization, would hold impromptu races back to their operations bases at the end of each workday. Many lives and much expensive equipment were lost in this fashion.

As time went by, these races became more formalized and the equipment more specialized. Humans encountered alien races, such as the Massey- Basheen and the Quazine, and some of them caught the racing "bug". In the year 2901 (Earth standard), the first "official" race was held on Noswal-7, with four classes of vehicles running simultaneously. It was a wild and woolly affair, with a number of fatalities and spectacular crashes, but a rousing success nonetheless. Simulcasts and delayed-subspace transmissions of the race coverage went to almost all parts of the known galaxy, and the ratings were incredible. The Planet Racing series was born.