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[h=1]Faster! A Racer's Diary Hardcover – 1972[/h]
by Jackie Stewart (Author), Peter Manso (Author)

4.9 out of 5 stars 7 customer reviews




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Jackie Stewart had a kind of genius. He could extract speed and precision from an automobile in a way that is beyond the comprehension, let alone the ability, of most men. In 1969, after only four years of Formula I competition, he won the World Drivers Championship. He won the championship again in 1971. But 1970, the year Stewart relives in Faster!, was a difficult year. Because of the machinations of racing politics, he was left with an uncompetitive car. During the year his two best friends, Jochen Rindt and Piers Courage, were killed while racing. Adversity and honesty forced Stewart to reexamine his motivations, and the result is a penetrating look at big-time auto racing. In his diary, Jackie Stewart goes behind the surface of a glamorous career to show why a man is compelled to risk his life in the quest for victory. Faster! is co-authored by Peter Manso, a writer and former college professor. Their disparate backgrounds and sensibilities make Stewart and Manso an unusual team. Together they give us an unforgettable portrait of a complex man and his dangerous profession.

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[h=1]Jackie Stewart's Principles of Performance Driving Hardcover – 1986[/h]
by Jackie Stewart (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars 5 customer reviews




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• From Library Journal Stewart's ability behind the wheel of a Formula I racing machine is legendary, so anything he has to say about competition driving is bound to be interesting. Add to that his sense of humor and a reputation for independent thinking and you have essential reading for auto-racing buffs. Neither a "how to drive a race car" manual, nor a recounting of "my greatest races" Stewart's book is about what it takes to succeed as a race driver, about his philosophy, about preparation and discipline as the basis for success. Stewart talks about techniques, control, and common sense; about the politics of motor sport, the cars and their builders, safety, and pressures on and off the track. Anyone with an interest in motor sports should read this. Illustrations not seen. Susan Ebershoff-Coles, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques Paperback – August 13, 1998 by Ross Bentley (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars 87 customer reviews


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Shave lap times or find a faster line through your favorite set of S-curves with professional race driver Ross Bentley as he shows you the quickest line from apex to apex! With tips and commentary from current race drivers, Bentley covers the vital techniques of speed, from visualizing lines to interpreting tire temps to put you in front of the pack. Includes discussion of practice techniques, chassis set-up, and working with your pit chief.

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Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving Paperback – October 1, 1997
by Carl Lopez (Author), Danny Sullivan (Foreword)

4.8 out of 5 stars 109 customer reviews



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Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving is the perfect resource for drivers from novice to expert. The fundamentals of fast driving are revealed in this definitive how-to book for racers. You will find the competition-proven methods of instructors and of professional drivers that will give you the know-how to work up the track and stay at the front.
Interested in the world of racing? Just think, you can have lessons and insights from Skip Barber instructors and from professional racers compiled in one handbook. This racing reference reveals the secrets of mastering car control, reducing lap times, and takes the reader inside the world of racing.
Going Faster! reveals the collective racing wisdom Skip Barber Racing School instructors have accumulated over the past 25 years.
Going Faster! is more than just a primer covering the basics. The hard-won knowledge of dozens of championship-winning race drivers-invaluable insights collected throughout their own careers-is distilled into a clear, understandable, organized progression. This book is about how the best drivers in the fastest, most sophisticated racecars use advanced race driving techniques-the difference between competence and brilliance.
Going Faster! is a book for the active race driver, the racer-to-be and the auto-racing fan who wants to know what driving a racecar is really about.
Foreword by Danny Sullivan
Contributing authors:
Mario Andretti
Skip Barber
Robbie Buhl
Jeremy Dale
Terry Earwood
Bryan Herta
David Loring
Jim Pace
Dorsey Schroeder
Carroll Smith
Danny Sullivan
Brian Till

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[h=1]Flat Out and Half Turned Over: Tales from Pit Road with Buddy Baker (Tales from the Team) Hardcover – June 1, 2013[/h]
by Buddy Baker (Author), David Poole (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars 28 customer reviews




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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!

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[h=1]Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR Paperback – August 28, 2007[/h]
by Neal Thompson (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars 100 customer reviews




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• “Moonshiners put more time, energy, thought, and love into their cars than any racer ever will. Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail.” —Junior Johnson, NASCAR legend and one-time whiskey runner
  
  Today’s NASCAR is a family sport with 75 million loyal fans, which is growing bigger and more mainstream by the day. Part Disney, part Vegas, part Barnum & Bailey, NASCAR is also a multibillion-dollar business and a cultural phenomenon that transcends geography, class, and gender. But dark secrets lurk in NASCAR’s past.
  
  Driving with the Devil uncovers for the first time the true story behind NASCAR’s distant, moonshine-fueled origins and paints a rich portrait of the colorful men who created it. Long before the sport of stock-car racing even existed, young men in the rural, Depression-wracked South had figured out that cars and speed were tickets to a better life. With few options beyond the farm or factory, the best chance of escape was running moonshine. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash—if the drivers survived. Driving with the Devil is the story of bootleggers whose empires grew during Prohibition and continued to thrive well after Repeal, and of drivers who thundered down dusty back roads with moonshine deliveries, deftly outrunning federal agents. The car of choice was the Ford V-8, the hottest car of the 1930s, and ace mechanics tinkered with them until they could fly across mountain roads at 100 miles an hour.
  
  After fighting in World War II, moonshiners transferred their skills to the rough, red-dirt racetracks of Dixie, and a national sport was born. In this dynamic era (1930s and ’40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s—convicted criminal Ray Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and crippled war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champion—emerged as the first stock car “team.” Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a new sport for the South to call its own.
  
  Driving with the Devil is a fascinating look at the well-hidden historical connection between whiskey running and stock-car racing. NASCAR histories will tell you who led every lap of every race since the first official race in 1948. Driving with the Devil goes deeper to bring you the excitement, passion, crime, and death-defying feats of the wild, early days that NASCAR has carefully hidden from public view. In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, this tale not only reveals a bygone era of a beloved sport, but also the character of the country at a moment in time.

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[h=1]The Ghosts of NASCAR: The Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500 Paperback – October 1, 2013[/h]
by John Havick (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars 24 customer reviews




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• 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.
  
  
  

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Cheating: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do in Pursuit of Speed Hardcover – September 27, 2002


by Tom Jensen (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars 12 customer reviews




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• Intimates the otherwise undisclosed details of the methods used by drivers, crews, and owners to cheat their way to success in the NASCAR Winston Cup series, and conveys how these infractions are dealt with by officials.

3.0 out of 5 starsIntriguing Look At Illegalities Within NASCAR
By Michael Daly on December 14, 2002
Format: Hardcover Tom Jensen authors this overdue look at the "black art" of cheating in NASCAR, and along the way manages a decent job of seperating fact from fiction. He delves into the acts of cheating in the sport from its beginnings (when apparant Grand National winner Glenn Dunaway was disqualified and the race win went to Jim Roper) through the 1990s into the 21st century.

Three cheating scandals stand out here, and all three involve teams owned by Junior Johnson. If there is a theme to this book, it is that Junior Johnson was the sport's least honest team owner and the one who always seemed to get benefit of the doubt. The first was the 1973 National 500 at Charlotte. Cale Yarborough won the race, but his car and second-place Richard Petty were protested by Bobby Allison. An extremely long tear-down took place, and NASCAR ultimately said the race results would stand - which led Allison to file a lawsuit against NASCAR, because there was evidence that Cale's Chevrolet, wrenched by Johnson, ran some 70 cubic inches more than allowed by the rules.

If there is an eye-opener in this book, it is the admission by Junior's engine builder at the time, Robert Yates, that that particular engine and others built for Junior were indeed illegal; Yates states it measured 500 CID, versus the 431 limit of the time. Actually, though, Yates' admission isn't a surprise, as former crew chief J.C. "Jake" Elder stated in several 1990s interviews that Junior's crew chief Herb Nab acknowledged to him that Junior usually ran illegal displacement in his engines.

The second involves the infamous "Pettygate" Charlotte race of 1983. Jensen doesn't delve into any new ground here, which is a shortfall, because there was more to that scandal than is usually acknowledged. Petty's team had won twice in 1983 but had struggled against Johnson and also the DiGard Racing team headed by Gary Nelson (and powered by Yates) in horsepower (Jensen deals at insufficient length with cheating by Gary Nelson with DiGard and other teams elsewhere in the book), and Maurice Petty built (and readily acknowledged after the race) a 381 CID engine. What is underappreciated is that Petty beat Junior's driver Darrell Waltrip - because Waltrip backed off in Turn Two and let Petty take a big lead. There was speculation then and later that Waltrip was also running more CID than allowed, and given Yates' and Herb Nab's admissions there is no reason not to believe that Waltrip usually ran illegal displacement.

It is a shame because it tarnishes the accomplishments of Waltrip (a great driver despite also being overrated as such) and also Cale Yarborough (a superior driver incapable of being overrated), who won the majority of his races (55 of 83 career wins) and all three of his titles in Johnson racecars. It also puts a period to NASCAR's long-running practice of being more nitpicky to certain teams over others (notably Johnson's), notably Petty Enterprises, Wood Brothers Racing, Ranier Racing, Bill Elliott's racing team, Hoss Ellington Racing (whose owner cheated mostly for fun and readily admitted such), and (somewhat ironic given how much success they enjoyed) DiGard Racing (one of the most revealing such episodes involved Bumpergate at Daytona in 1982; NASCAR made Gary Nelson lower the rear bumper on the DiGard car to increase drag; Nelson angrilly had it slapped on with insecure fasteners to fall off on the track; he denies that he had it deliberately slapped on to fall off during a race, but there is no reason to believe him); this nitpickery practice does continue today, though at a far less blatant level.

Another who got a lot more than his fair share of NASCAR nitpickery was Harry Hyde, whose cars won the 1970 title with Bobby Isaac and whose cars were regularly torn down more thoroughly than most, such as in the scandal-plagued '73 National 500; Hyde's car was torn down four times during the weekend and when NASCAR demanded another teardown, he refused and was disqualified. Hyde also got swept into the Nitrousgate scandal of 1976; after Daytona 500 qualifying his Dodge was found with a moveable flap on the radiator, which allowed air to flow more efficiently and increase aero slickness; the flap met the letter of NASCAR's rulebook but amid the discovery of speed-enhancing nitrous oxide bottles on several cars, NASCAR ruled it didn't meet the spirit.

Nitpickery showed in a later area dealt with by Jensen - the "Tiregate" New Hampshire 300 of late August 1998. On final stops with some 73 laps to go Jeff Gordon took two tires to the four taken by Mark Martin, John Andretti, and others (this was when tires were much softer and wore more easily than in 2001-2, when Goodyear went with compounds of such hardness that wear became almost impossible); under such circumstances Gordon should have been swamped by cars with four fresh tires, but instead he outpulled the cars on four fresh tires and easily won a race he had not run all that competitively in throughout that day.

Jensen details the inaccuracy of claims by Jack Roush of chemical treatment of tires by Ray Evernham, but ignores that this was a red herring to begin with - the real issue being Goodyear playing favorites on tires, a practice angrilly noted a year later by team owner Andy Petree in a spat over lack of access to Goodyear tires for much-needed test sessions, and also briefly discussed by Geoff Bodine in Shaun Assael's superb NASCAR book "Wide Open: Days & Nights On The NASCAR Trail."

The third big scandal discussed in the book was Jimmy Spencer's two restrictor plate victories of 1994; once again, we have a cheating scandal involving Junior Johnson racecars. In fairness to Spencer, comments about his ability by Jeff Gordon's stepdad John Bickford (made in naturally fawning comparison to Gordon's ability) are a little out of line, as Spencer had shown superb drafting ability years earlier in Travis Carter's Chevrolet and showed it again in Dick Moroso's Grand National Ford, Travis Carter's Winston-sponsored Fords, and James Finch's Grand National Pontiacs.

Regardless, it should be clear that Spencer's two Winston Cup wins were achieved with an illegal restrictor plate manifold; that it could have escaped NASCAR pre-race inspection is not as difficult as Jensen implies at points, given the ingenuity of raceteams.

One area where Jensen could have set the record straight but does not even discuss is suspicion about the 1984 Firecracker 400. During "The Call" mini-controversy of 1995 there was some question about the legality of Richard Petty's 200th win, about how the engine supposedly was over the limit on displacement. There ought to be no question about the legality of that win or all but one or two other Petty wins, given how NASCAR scrutinized his cars more than most, how Petty did not show more horsepower than race favorite Cale Yarborough (Petty won on superior handling and the car's better drafting ability; Cale's Ranier Chevrolets of the time were noticeably inferior in handling than Petty's Pontiacs or Bobby Allison's Buicks), and also how the Pettys had feuded with NASCAR's France family almost from the beginning (Lee Petty losing the 1950 Grand National title on a questionable points penalty), making claims of a "Call" going to him implausible. Jensen likewise should have noted that in the '73 controversy Petty readily admitted running a mixture of engine cylinders of varying displacements - a few over the legal limit, several well under it, for an average within the rules. As Bobby Allison himself noted during the Pettygate scandal, "Richard shoots straighter than most."

In all, though, the book is worth having for providing information on a "black art" in NASCAR racing. Jensen provides a look at the psychology of cheating when he notes Darrell Waltrip's infamous 1976 quip, "If you don't cheat, you look like an idiot; if you cheat and don't get caught, you look like a hero; if you cheat and get caught, you look like a dope."

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EXCERPT: 'A Big Ask' - Qualifying

Wednesday, 14 December 2016


RACER Staff / Image by LAT In "A Big Ask: The Story of Ford's Triumphant Return to Le Mans," author David Phillips chronicles Ford's return to Le Mans 50 years after Henry Ford II opened the Ford Motor Company's checkbook to defeat bitter rival Ferrari.
They partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing, six-time winners of the 24 Hours of Daytona and America's most successful racing team, Multimatic Engineering, among the world's leading automotive engineering and manufacturing firms, and a host of world-class suppliers in an effort to win the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In this week's excerpt, one of Ford's biggest moments has arrived: qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
More from 'A Big Ask'

As (Ryan) Briscoe pitted to turn the car over to (Richard) Westbrook, (Dirk) Müller was replacing (Joey) Hand behind the wheel of the #68 Ford GT. He took to the track on fresh tires, a low fuel load and with pressure starting to mount. After all, stymied by traffic, yellows and the red flag, Hand had been unable to get out of the 3:55s.
"We decided to put on another set of tires at the end, hoping and anticipating rain for Thursday and saying, 'OK we can use this extra set of tires and we won't shoot ourselves in the foot for
the race,'" said (race engineer John) Hennek.
"Dirk went out and didn't seem to be going anywhere and I was starting to get concerned. (Team manager) Mike (O'Gara) was not concerned. He was saying, 'OK it's all about getting the lap.' And it probably was true – not just for us but for everybody. It's such a long lap, and you have to be fortunate not to get any local yellows, you don't get traffic – there's so many things happening that unfortunately it's not down to car setup so much as it is getting the clear lap and can the driver do it on the lap.
"I didn't think it was going to happen. For two or three laps we kept getting guys in the Porsche Curves. You're looking and trying to tell him where traffic is, but it's impossible on an eight-mile track with people coming and going, to say, 'OK let's send him out here – there's a gap.' It really comes down to a bit of luck on getting the clear lap."
An out lap, a flying lap and traffic; a second flying lap, more traffic in the Porsche Curves. Then with ten minutes to go Müller got the lap: Every braking zone perfect, every apex nailed, no mistakes, no traffic and even a brief tow from an LMP1 car on the straight. The result? 3:51.185.
"I was a little under pressure," Müller said. "Joey kept getting his laps interrupted and we'd used one of set of tires for qualifying. Then I saw Ryan's time and I said, 'Oh my God. My teammate just got the pole.'
"The car felt good on the out lap and then I did a good flying lap but ran into traffic and did a 52.4. 'OK,' I said, 'be patient.' The next lap was good too, but I hit more traffic in the Porsche Curves and it was 51.7. The last lap there were cars in front, cars in back but I had a clear lap and I just got it. Really it was just coincidence that it was the last lap. I could have been quicker on the laps before but I ran into traffic ... So now we do a rain dance for tomorrow night?!?!"

"A Big Ask: The Story of Ford's Triumphant Return to Le Mans" can be purchased directly through the publisher by clicking here. To pre-order "A Big Ask" on Amazon, please click here.

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A Big Ask:


[h=2]EXCERPT: A Big Ask - The Story of Ford's return to Le Mans[/h] Wednesday, 30 November 2016


RACER Staff

In "A Big Ask: The Story of Ford's Triumphant Return to Le Mans," author David Phillips chronicles Ford's return to Le Mans 50 years after Henry Ford II opened the Ford Motor Company's checkbook to defeat bitter rival Ferrari.
They partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing, six-time winners of the 24 Hours of Daytona and America's most successful racing team, Multimatic Engineering, among the world's leading automotive engineering and manufacturing firms, and a host of world-class suppliers in an effort to win the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Here's another sneak peek. For an additional look, head here.
By 1:30 p.m. the cars were lined up on the grid [at Daytona] awaiting the 2:40 p.m. start of the 2016 racing season and, in the case of the Ford GTs, the next step on the road to Le Mans. The mood at FCGR was a mixture of cautious optimism, pragmatism and uncertainty.
“I don’t think it really sank in until I sat in the car before the start of the race that, ‘We haven’t raced a lap in this car,’” said [Joey] Hand. “‘We haven’t drafted in this car; we haven’t run side-by-side; we haven’t had to out-brake anybody yet.’”
The fact that Hand was even thinking about out-braking his competitors testified to the progress made in overcoming one of the car’s few shortcomings.
“We never did find a silver bullet for the brakes,” [Larry] Holt explained. “It was just a case of massaging every single component, over and over and, eventually, they become a nonissue.”
In fact, apart from minor teething problems, Ganassi’s dedicated race car and the development-come race car had run largely trouble-free throughout the testing program; nothing had cropped up that would have prevented them from finishing a race or even required a time-consuming fix that would have knocked them out of contention in a long-distance race.
Not unlike the B-grade movie where the protagonist says, “it’s quiet…too quiet” the Ford GTs’ remarkable reliability was, at once, a source of satisfaction and cause for concern.
“I’m kind of worried,” said (Chip) Ganassi, only half in jest. “We’ve run a couple thousand miles, done a 12-hour test and nothing’s broken – yet.”
“The only thing I know for sure is that sometime in the next 24 hours we’re going to say ‘Gee, that never happened in testing!’” quipped (Raj) Nair.