The Ghosts Of Nascar

Author : John Havick
Publisher : University of Iowa Press
ISBN 13 : 1609381971
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Ghosts of NASCAR written by John Havick and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who won the first Daytona 500? Fans still debate whether it was midwestern champion Johnny Beauchamp, declared the victor at the finish line, or longtime NASCAR driver Lee Petty, declared the official winner a few days after the race. The Ghosts of NASCAR puts the controversial finish under a microscope. Author John Havick interviewed scores of people, analyzed film of the race, and pored over newspaper accounts of the event. He uses this information and his deep knowledge of the sport as it worked then to determine what probably happened. But he also tells a much bigger story: the story of how Johnny Beauchamp—and his Harlan, Iowa, compatriots, mechanic Dale Swanson and driver Tiny Lund—ended up in Florida driving in the 1959 Daytona race. The Ghosts of NASCAR details how the Harlan Boys turned to racing cars to have fun and to escape the limited opportunities for poor boys in rural southwestern Iowa. As auto racing became more popular and better organized in the 1950s, Swanson, Lund, and Beauchamp battled dozens of rivals and came to dominate the sport in the Midwest. By the later part of the decade, the three men were ready to take on the competition in the South’s growing NASCAR circuit. One of the top mechanics of the day, Swanson literally wrote the book on race cars at Chevrolet’s clandestine racing shop in Atlanta, Georgia, while Beauchamp and Lund proved themselves worthy competitors. It all came to a head on the brand-new Daytona track in 1959. The Harlan Boys’ long careers and midwestern racing in general have largely faded from memory. The Ghosts of NASCAR recaptures it all: how they negotiated the corners on dirt tracks and passed or spun out their opponents; how officials tore down cars after races to make sure they conformed to track rules; the mix of violence and camaraderie among fierce competitors; and the struggles to organize and regulate the sport. One of very few accounts of 1950s midwestern stock car racing, The Ghosts of NASCAR is told by a man who was there during the sport’s earliest days.

Author : Daniel S. Pierce
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807895726
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.25/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Real NASCAR written by Daniel S. Pierce and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this history of the stock car racing circuit known as NASCAR, Daniel S. Pierce offers a revealing new look at the sport from its postwar beginnings on Daytona Beach and Piedmont dirt tracks through the early 1970s, when the sport spread beyond its southern roots and gained national recognition. Real NASCAR not only confirms the popular notion of NASCAR's origins in bootlegging, but also establishes beyond a doubt the close ties between organized racing and the illegal liquor industry, a story that readers will find both fascinating and controversial.

Author : Neal Thompson
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0307522261
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Driving with the Devil written by Neal Thompson and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-02-04 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story behind NASCAR’s hardscrabble, moonshine-fueled origins, “fascinating and fast-moving . . . even if you don’t know a master cylinder from a head gasket” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “[Neal] Thompson exhumes the sport’s Prohibition-era roots in this colorful, meticulously detailed history.”—Time Today’s NASCAR—equal parts Disney, Vegas, and Barnum & Bailey—is a multibillion-dollar conglomeration with 80 million fans, half of them women, that grows bigger and more mainstream by the day. Long before the sport’s rampant commercialism lurks a distant history of dark secrets that have been carefully hidden from view—until now. In the Depression-wracked South, with few options beyond the factory or farm, a Ford V-8 became the ticket to a better life. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash. Driving with the Devil reveals how the skills needed to outrun federal agents with a load of corn liquor transferred perfectly to the red-dirt racetracks of Dixie. In this dynamic era (the 1930s and ’40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s—convicted felon Raymond Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champ—emerged as the first stock car “team.” Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a sport for the South to call its own. In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, this tale captures a bygone era of a beloved sport and the character of the country at a moment in time.

Author : Joe Menzer
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13 : 9780743226257
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Wildest Ride written by Joe Menzer and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2002-06-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Wildest Ride, Joe Menzer gives us a timely, comprehensive look at the dramatic, rollicking history of stock-car racing in America, exploring both its inauspicious bootlegging beginnings and the billion-dollar industry that it has become. Menzer straps the reader into the driver's seat for a run through NASCAR's history, revealing the sport's remarkable rise from rogue outfit to corporate darling. Menzer also profiles the many superstar drivers who have dominated the sport, men as unpredictable as they are fearless, including "The Intimidator," Dale Earnhardt, whose ferocious driving made him NASCAR's signature personality -- and whose tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500 was mourned by millions. Menzer expertly maneuvers through the tight corners and wide-open straightaways of NASCAR's history, examining the circuit's attempt to distance itself from its "redneck racin'" past without compromising its country roots. Simultaneously rowdy and insightful, The Wildest Ride is a thorough and unfailingly honest account of NASCAR's amazing rise to prominence and a sweeping account of a uniquely American phenomenon.

Author : Donnie Allison
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1613214391
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Donnie Allison written by Donnie Allison and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donnie Allison was always the “other” brother of the famous NASCAR racing duo. Perhaps only true students of NASCAR history know that Donnie Allison won ten races in his career; that he posted top ten finishes in 47 percent of all the races he ever ran; that four of the five times the Allison brothers ran 1-2 in a race, it was Donnie in front at the checkers. Fewer still may know that he was Rookie of the Year in the 1970 Indianapolis 500. Little is known about Donnie Allison because he wasn’t much of a talker. Donnie lived by the philosophy that his driving did his talking for him. Over the years, his being so tight-lipped led to many misconceptions, twisted tales, and outright falsehoods about Donnie Allison, his racing career, and his life. In Donnie Allison: As I Recall . . ., he sets the record straight on a variety of subjects he’s wanted to clear up for years, including the 1979 Daytona 500 and the famous fight in the infield with Cale Yarborough; the win NASCAR tried to steal from him and give to Richard Petty; and his ultra-competitive, often-combative relationship with a racing brother who didn’t like to lose to anybody. “I’ve got lots of stories to tell, and I want to tell them the way I remember them,” Donnie says. In Donnie Allison: As I Recall . . ., he’s done just that.

Author : Buddy Baker
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1613214464
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Flat Out and Half Turned Over written by Buddy Baker and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-06-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Flat Out and Half Turned Over, driving phenomenon Buddy Baker details the most hilarious collection of racing stories, memories, and anecdotes ever published. Read about the bumps and brawls; the blood, sweat, and tears; and the practical jokes that happen behind the scenes from the very drivers, owners, crew chiefs, and pit crew that make up the heart and soul of stock car racing. In this book, readers will find names like Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker, A. J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, and Tiny Lund, along with racing icons Petty and Earnhardt. Flat Out and Half Turned Over is a must-read for racing buffs of all kind!

Author : Barbara Dunlop
Publisher : Harlequin
ISBN 13 : 1426820194
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Overheated written by Barbara Dunlop and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Things Crystal Hayes could do without: her looks, men obsessed with her looks, and guys who think they're God's gift to the ladies. She'd rather be behind the wheel of a truck than navigating cheesy pickup lines. But when Crystal makes a delivery to a NASCAR event, she meets the one guy who could blow all her preconceptions away.… All his life Larry Grosso has lived in the shadow of his well-known racing family—but it's now time for him to take what he wants. And on the top of that list is Crystal—breathtaking, sweet…and twenty-two years younger. Their age difference is creating animosity within their families, and suddenly their romance is the talk of the entire NASCAR circuit!

Author : Jay W. Pennell
Publisher : Sports Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781683584704
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Start Your Engines written by Jay W. Pennell and published by Sports Publishing. This book was released on 2023-10-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Start Your Engines contains thirty-four chapters describing different inaugural accomplishments that have taken place throughout NASCAR history. This book answers the following questions: • When was NASCAR officially founded? • Where was the first Strictly Stock race held? • What was the first flag-to-flag race ever broadcast on TV? • When was the first night race? • When and where was the first international NASCAR race held? • Who was the first woman to win the Daytona 500 pole position? • And many more! In Start Your Engines, seasoned writer Jay W. Pennell outlines some of the most iconic and unknown firsts in NASCAR history. From Red Byron to Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt to Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson to Danica Patrick, Pennell also covers some of the biggest names of the sport and their landmark contributions. Providing in-depth explanations of each milestone, Pennell takes readers through the peaks and valleys of NASCAR history and details the impact each first had on the legacy of the sport. From the earliest days of NASCAR’s foundation, to the high banks of Daytona and famed Brickyard at Indianapolis, Pennell looks at monumental dates and races that changed the sport and helped it grow from a small gathering of race car drivers and promoters into the multibillion-dollar sports industry it is today. This book is a unique look at racing for new and experienced NASCAR fans alike. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Author : Greg Fielden
Publisher : Sellers Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781412710732
Total Pages : 504 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book NASCAR Chronicle written by Greg Fielden and published by Sellers Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the complete story of big-time American stock-car racing, from its roots on the moonshine back roads and dusty circle tracks of the South to its stature as a coast-to-coast multibillion-dollar phenomenon. The only book of its kind sanctioned by NASCAR.

Author : Art Garner
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1250017785
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500 written by Art Garner and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild "Book of the Year" 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.