American Auto Racing
The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed
$39.95
In stock
About the Book
As soon as there were automobiles, there was racing. The first recorded race, an over road event from Paris to Rouen, France, was organized by the French newspaper Le Petit Journal in 1894. Seeing an opportunity for a similar event, Hermann H. Kohlsaat—publisher of the Chicago Times-Herald—sponsored what was hailed as the “Race of the Century,” a 54-mile race from Chicago’s Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois, and back. Frank Duryea won in a time of 10 hours and 23 minutes, of which 7 hours and 53 minutes were actually spent on the road.
Race cars and competition have progressed continuously since that time, and today’s 200 mph races bear little resemblance to the event Duryea won. This work traces American auto racing through the 20th century, covering its significant milestones, developments and personalities. Subjects included are: Bill Elliott, dirt track racing, board track racing, Henry Ford, Grand Prix races, Dale Earnhardt, the Vanderbilt Cup, Bill France, Gordon Bennett, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Mercer, the Stutz, Duesenberg, Frank Lockhart, drag racing, the Trans Am, Paul Newman, vintage racing, land speed records, Al Unser, Wilbur Shaw, the Corvette, the Cobra, Richard Petty, NASCAR, Can Am, Mickey Thompson, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon, and Formula One. Through interviews with participants and track records, this text shows where, when and how racing changed. It describes the growth of each different form of auto racing as well as the people and technologies that made it ever faster.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
J.A. Martin and Thomas F. Saal
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: 232 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1235-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8389-1
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments v
Preface x
Introduction 1
1 Race of the Century 3
2 The Man Who Invented Racing 5
3 Uniquely American Tracks 6
4 The Great Race 9
5 The Race That Started an Empire 11
6 The Vanderbilt Cup 13
7 The First Superstars 16
8 A Full Day of Racing 20
9 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 22
10 Mercer: America’s First Great Race Car 26
11 Stutz: The Car That Made Good in a Day 27
12 United States Grand Prix 28
13 The Brothers Duesenberg 31
14 Duesenberg Wins at the French Grand Prix 33
15 Holy Trinity and the Miraculous Motors 35
16 Frank Lockhart 38
17 Land Speed Record 39
18 Sticks Instead of Bricks 40
19 The Vanderbilt Trophy, Roosevelt Raceway Revival 42
20 High Speeds in the High Desert 44
21 Bill France Builds NASCAR 46
22 Blue Crown Specials 49
23 Haulin’ Shine and Racin’ Hell 51
24 He Did It His Way 53
25 It Sure Sounded Like a Winner 56
26 Wilbur Shaw 58
27 Pikes Peak 59
28 Drag Racing 62
29 The Best Revenge Is Revenge 65
30 Tony Hulman 67
31 The Tweedy Jacket Set 69
32 Carrera Panamericana 71
33 The Race of Two Worlds 72
34 Run What You Brung 74
35 All American Sports Car 75
36 A.J. Foyt 79
37 Rear Engine Revolution 81
38 When Holman and Moody Meant Ford 84
39 Garlits Goes to the Rear 86
40 America’s First World Champion: Phil Hill 88
41 Total Performance 90
42 The White Winged Warriors 93
43 Karting 96
44 Carroll Shelby’s Greatest Product, and the Cobra 97
45 Linda Vaughn 101
46 Andy Granatelli and the “Whooshmobile” 102
47 The Greatest Field in the History of Racing 105
48 If You Can’t Buy ’Em, Beat ’Em 107
49 The Eagle Flies at Spa 111
50 Richard Petty Becomes “King Richard” 113
51 Unlimited Dreams, Dominant Reality 115
52 Movies Go Racing, and a Few Get It Right 119
53 Sprints and Midgets 121
54 Sports Cars or Stock Cars? 124
55 Everyone’s Mr. Speed 127
56 It Sure Sounded Good on Paper 129
57 Records Without Limitations 131
58 We’re Just Racing for Trophies 134
59 More Than Acting Like a Racer 136
60 Wings and Wide Tires Exploit the Wind 137
61 IMCA 141
62 New Tracks Built 142
63 The Unfair Advantage 145
64 I Can Go Slow Faster Than You Can 150
65 This Time with More Rules and More Competition 151
66 DIRT on Dirt 152
67 A Great Idea Sold Out 154
68 American Formula One 156
69 A True “World” Champion 158
70 Road Racing Goes Professional 162
71 United States Grand Prix 165
72 Unser, the First Clan of Racing 168
73 Awesome Bill from Dawsonville 173
74 World of Outlaws 175
75 Tracks Lost 177
76 Eight in a Row, Nissan GTPs 178
77 The New Fuel of Racing 181
78 It’s More Than Just an Old Car Thing 184
79 The Open Wheel Schism 186
80 Gordon Doesn’t Take Lanier 191
81 The Viper Strikes for Dodge 193
82 Who’s This Guy Panoz? 194
83 The Luck of Being Earnhardt 196
84 Sports Car Split 200
85 The New Speedways 202
86 Lo Tech with Hi Excitement 204
87 A Day for History 206
Epilogue 209
Bibliography 211
Index 213
Book Reviews & Awards
“Covers the spectrum of American racing history…describes the growth of each format of racing and highlights major achievements”—Antique Automobile.
