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American Auto Racing: The
Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed
by J.A. Martin
and Thomas F. Saal
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.
J.A. Martin has written features on motorsports for several
newspapers and lives in Baltimore. Thomas F. Saal is a former
editor of the newsletter for the Automotive Historical Society
and lives in Lakewood, Ohio.
231pp. 232 photographs, bibliography, index (7 x 10)
$35.00 Softbound
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments v
Preface x
Introduction 1
1. Race of the Century: Nineteenth Century That Is
3
2. The Man Who Invented Racing: The Bennett Rules
5
3. Uniquely American Tracks: Dirt Ovals 6
4. The Great Race: New York to Paris, the Long Way, 1908
9
5. The Race That Started an Empire: Henry Ford and the 999
11
6. The Vanderbilt Cup: 1904-1916 13
7. The First Superstars: Oldfield, DePalma and Mulford 16
8. A Full Day of Racing: Twice Around the Clock on a Dirt Oval
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: Prewar 28
13. The Brothers Duesenberg 31
14. Duesenberg Wins at the French Grand Prix 33
15. Holy Trinity and the Miraculous Motors: Miller, Offenhauser,
Goossen 35
16. Frank Lockhart 38
17. Land Speed Record: To 1939 39
18. Sticks Instead of Bricks: Racing on the Boards 40
19. The Vanderbilt Trophy, Roosevelt Raceway Revival: 1936-1937
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: Good Ole Boys 51
24. He Did It His Way: Cunningham Challenges Europe 53
25. It Sure Sounded Like a Winner: Novi 56
26. Wilbur Shaw: The Man Who "Owned" Indy 58
27. Pikes Peak: The Race to the Clouds 59
28. Drag Racing: From Main Street to Mainstream 62
29. The Best Revenge Is Revenge: The Mighty 300s 65
30. Tony Hulman: IMS and USAC 67
31. The Tweedy Jacket Set: Sports Car Club of America 69
32. Carrera Panamericana: The Pan American Road Race 71
33. The Race of Two Worlds: Monza 1957-1958 72
34. Run What You Brung: Formula Libre at Lime Rock 74
35. All American Sports Car: Corvette 75
36. A.J. Foyt: Winning Was Everything 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, 1961 88
41. Total Performance: Ford Takes on Everyone 90
42. The White Winged Warriors: Chaparral 93
43. Karting: If You Don't Have a Kart Experience, You Don't Have
a Prayer 96
44. Carroll Shelby's Greatest Product, and the Cobra 97
45. Linda Vaughn: Racing's Big Sister 101
46. Andy Granatelli and the "Whooshmobile": STP Turbine
102
47. The Greatest Field in the History of Racing: 1967 Indianapolis
500 105
48. If You Can't Buy 'Em, Beat 'Em: Ford Takes LeMans 107
49. The Eagle Flies at Spa 111
50. Richard Petty Becomes "King Richard," 1967
113
51. Unlimited Dreams, Dominant Reality: Can-Am 115
52. Movies Go Racing, and a Few Get It Right 119
53. Sprints and Midgets 121
54. Sports Cars or Stock Cars? Trans-Am 124
55. Everyone's Mr. Speed: Mickey Thompson 127
56. It Sure Sounded Good on Paper: Formula 5000 129
57. Records Without Limitations: Land Speed Record, Postwar
131
58. We're Just Racing for Trophies: The SCCA Runoffs 134
59. More Than Acting Like a Racer: Paul Newman 136
60. Wings and Wide Tires Exploit the Wind: McLarens and Eagles
137
61. IMCA: Racing Within ($) Limits 141
62. New Tracks Built: 19491971 142
63. The Unfair Advantage: Roger Penske and Mark Donohue 145
64. I Can Go Slow Faster Than You Can: Bracket Racing 150
65. This Time with More Rules and More Competition: Can-Am Reborn
151
66. DIRT on Dirt 152
67. A Great Idea Sold Out: International Race of Champions
154
68. American Formula One: Shadow, Penske and Parnelli 156
69. A True "World" Champion: Mario Andretti 158
70. Road Racing Goes Professional: John Bishop and IMSA 162
71. United States Grand Prix, Postwar 165
72. Unser, the First Clan of Racing 168
73. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville: Bill Elliot in 1985 173
74. World of Outlaws 175
75. Tracks Lost: 19711986 177
76. Eight in a Row, Nissan GTPs 178
77. The New Fuel of Racing: Sponsorship 181
78. It's More Than Just an Old Car Thing: Vintage Racing
184
79. The Open Wheel Schism: CART, the IRL and All Those Egos
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: IMSA/SportsCar/USRRC/ALMS/Grand Am
200
85. The New Speedways: 1986 On 202
86. Lo Tech with Hi Excitement: NASCAR Trucks 204
87. A Day for History: John Force, Kenny Bernstein and Shirley
Muldowney 206
Epilogue 209
Bibliography 211
Index 213
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