Auto Racing In The Shadow Of The Great War

From 1915 through the early 1920s, American auto racing experienced rapid and exciting change. Competition by European vehicles forced American car manufacturers to incorporate new features, resulting in legendary engineering triumphs (and, essentially, works of art). Some of the greatest drivers in racing history were active during this time--Ralph DePalma, Dario Resta, Eddie Rickenbacker, the Chevrolet brothers, Jimmy Murphy. Presenting dozens of races in detail and a wealth of engineering specs, this history recalls the era's cigar-shaped speedway specials and monumental board tracks, the heavy-footed drivers, fearless mechanics, gifted engineers and enthusiastic backers.

From 1915 through the early 1920s, American auto racing experienced rapid and exciting change. Competition by European vehicles forced American car manufacturers to incorporate new features, resulting in legendary engineering triumphs (and, essentially, works of art). Some of the greatest drivers in racing history were active during this time--Ralph DePalma, Dario Resta, Eddie Rickenbacker, the Chevrolet brothers, Jimmy Murphy. Presenting dozens of races in detail and a wealth of engineering specs, this history recalls the era's cigar-shaped speedway specials and monumental board tracks, the heavy-footed drivers, fearless mechanics, gifted engineers and enthusiastic backers.

This book reveals the story of Man of Mystery Don Nichols's Shadow, the only US-based team to win a Can-Am championship, and one of only three to win in F1.

"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny," said President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the young Americans who grew up during the deprivation of the Great Depression and later served during World War II. The 23 described in this book went on from military service to make their mark in auto racing, particularly in the sports car scene of the 1950s and 1960s. Ken Miles and Vasek Polak were not Americans during the war but later went on to become citizens. Carroll Shelby was not only a great driver but also created cars that are still manufactured. John Von Neumann and Vasek Polak were instrumental in helping to establish Porsche as a marque in the U.S. John Fitch, Ed Hugus, Chuck Daigh, Bill Stroppe, Max Balchowsky, Jay Chamberlain, Jim Peterson and Paul Newman were heroes in the war before succeeding in businesses and motorsports.

Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild "Book of the Year" Short-listed for 2015 PEN / ESPN Literary Award for Sports Writing Before noon on May 30th, 1964, the Indy 500 was stopped for the first time in history by an accident. Seven cars had crashed in a fiery wreck, killing two drivers, and threatening the very future of the 500. Black Noon chronicles one of the darkest and most important days in auto-racing history. As rookie Dave MacDonald came out of the fourth turn and onto the front stretch at the end of the second lap, he found his rear-engine car lifted by the turbulence kicked up from two cars he was attempting to pass. With limited steering input, MacDonald lost control of his car and careened off the inside wall of the track, exploding into a huge fireball and sliding back into oncoming traffic. Closing fast was affable fan favorite Eddie Sachs. "The Clown Prince of Racing" hit MacDonald's sliding car broadside, setting off a second explosion that killed Sachs instantly. MacDonald, pulled from the wreckage, died two hours later. After the track was cleared and the race restarted, it was legend A. J. Foyt who raced to a decisive, if hollow, victory. Torn between elation and horror, Foyt, along with others, championed stricter safety regulations, including mandatory pit stops, limiting the amount a fuel a car could carry, and minimum-weight standards. In this tight, fast-paced narrative, Art Garner brings to life the bygone era when drivers lived hard, raced hard, and at times died hard. Drawing from interviews, Garner expertly reconstructs the fateful events and decisions leading up to the sport's blackest day, and the incriminating aftermath that forever altered the sport. Black Noon remembers the race that changed everything and the men that paved the way for the Golden Age of Indy car racing.

"The Legend of the First Super Speedway," is a gritty tale punctuated by humor that chronicles the hero's journey through the pioneering age of American auto racing. It is a factual, previously untold story that must be read for a thorough understanding of auto racing history.

Includes Index -- Media Room Dvd 86 : Watkins Glen : The Street Years : 1948--1952.

James Bond meets Michael Schumacher The idea of racing drivers working as secret agents is at best far-fetched but The Grand Prix Saboteurs tells the amazing TRUE story of how three top Grand Prix drivers from the 1920s and 1930s worked for a clandestine British secret service in occupied France, during World War II. The product of 18 years of research, The Grand Prix Saboteurs tells a story that remained top secret until the British Government finally agreed to release them in 2003. The book dazzles with swashbuckling escapes, shocking betrayals and a story you will never forget.

Tycoons, Scorchers, and Outlaws charts how auto racing was shaped by class tensions between the millionaires who invented it, the public who resented their seizure of the public roads, and the working class drivers who viewed the sport as a vocation, not a leisured pursuit.