American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed / Edition 1

by J.A. Martin, Thomas F. Saal

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786412358
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/19/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	231
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments    
Preface    
Introduction    

1 Race of the Century    
2 The Man Who Invented Racing    
3 Uniquely American Tracks    
4 The Great Race    
5 The Race That Started an Empire    
6 The Vanderbilt Cup    
7 The First Superstars    
8 A Full Day of Racing    
9 Indianapolis Motor Speedway    
10 Mercer: America's First Great Race Car    
11 Stutz: The Car That Made Good in a Day    
12 United States Grand Prix    
13 The Brothers Duesenberg    
14 Duesenberg Wins at the French Grand Prix    
15 Holy Trinity and the Miraculous Motors    
16 Frank Lockhart    
17 Land Speed Record    
18 Sticks Instead of Bricks    
19 The Vanderbilt Trophy, Roosevelt Raceway Revival    
20 High Speeds in the High Desert    
21 Bill France Builds NASCAR    
22 Blue Crown Specials    
23 Haulin’ Shine and Racin’ Hell    
24 He Did It His Way    
25 It Sure Sounded Like a Winner    
26 Wilbur Shaw    
27 Pikes Peak    
28 Drag Racing    
29 The Best Revenge Is Revenge    
30 Tony Hulman    
31 The Tweedy Jacket Set    
32 Carrera Panamericana    
33 The Race of Two Worlds    
34 Run What You Brung    
35 All American Sports Car    
36 A.J. Foyt    
37 Rear Engine Revolution    
38 When Holman and Moody Meant Ford    
39 Garlits Goes to the Rear    
40 America’s First World Champion: Phil Hill    
41 Total Performance    
42 The White Winged Warriors    
43 Karting    
44 Carroll Shelby’s Greatest Product, and the Cobra    
45 Linda Vaughn    
46 Andy Granatelli and the “Whooshmobile”    
47 The Greatest Field in the History of Racing    
48 If You Can’t Buy ’Em, Beat ’Em    
49 The Eagle Flies at Spa    
50 Richard Petty Becomes “King Richard”    
51 Unlimited Dreams, Dominant Reality    
52 Movies Go Racing, and a Few Get It Right    
53 Sprints and Midgets    
54 Sports Cars or Stock Cars?    
55 Everyone’s Mr. Speed    
56 It Sure Sounded Good on Paper    
57 Records Without Limitations    
58 We’re Just Racing for Trophies    
59 More Than Acting Like a Racer    
60 Wings and Wide Tires Exploit the Wind    
61 IMCA    
62 New Tracks Built    
63 The Unfair Advantage    
64 I Can Go Slow Faster Than You Can    
65 This Time with More Rules and More Competition    
66 DIRT on Dirt    
67 A Great Idea Sold Out    
68 American Formula One    
69 A True “World” Champion    
70 Road Racing Goes Professional    
71 United States Grand Prix    
72 Unser, the First Clan of Racing    
73 Awesome Bill from Dawsonville    
74 World of Outlaws    
75 Tracks Lost    
76 Eight in a Row, Nissan GTPs    
77 The New Fuel of Racing    
78 It’s More Than Just an Old Car Thing    
79 The Open Wheel Schism    
80 Gordon Doesn’t Take Lanier    
81 The Viper Strikes for Dodge    
82 Who’s This Guy Panoz?    
83 The Luck of Being Earnhardt    
84 Sports Car Split    
85 The New Speedways    
86 Lo Tech with Hi Excitement    
87 A Day for History    

Epilogue    
Bibliography    
Index    

Editorial Reviews

Covers the spectrum of American racing history...describes the growth of each format of racing and highlights major achievements”—Antique Automobile.

From the Publisher