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.

Valentino Rossi's announcement of retirement brings down the curtain on an incredible career in the MotoGP motorcycle world championships. With his nine titles, including seven in the premier class, he is widely regarded as the greatest motorcycle racer of all time, and his 26 seasons of Grand Prix racing make him unique across both motorcycling and Formula 1. Rossi has been captivating fans since he won his first Grand Prix at the age of 17 and even in his final season, at the age of 42, he has been riding faster than ever. In this major new book by top MotoGP journalist Mat Oxley, each and every one of these races comes under the microscope, complete with perspectives about Rossi's achievements, the controversies, his character, and analysis of his bikes. This is a Valentino Rossi book like no other

An in-depth study of the Sauber-Mercedes racecars that dominated the Group C racing scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. When Peter Sauber started using Mercedes V8 engines in his Group C sports cars in 1985 the result was World Championship wins in 1989 and 1990. Utterly dominant, the three-pointed star of Mercedes beat the TWR Jaguars and Nissans, and introduced a certain M. Schumacher into the factory team in 1990. This book features interviews with many of the personalities who raced with the Sauber-Mercedes team, including Jochen Mass, Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson, David Price, Bobby Bell and Leo Ress. A host of magnificent colour photographs backs up the history and development of the cars. Also included is a chassis-by-chassis history of each individual car.

Despite its worldwide following, high levels of investment and scientific complexity, there is a lack of evidence-based literature on the science of human performance in motorsport. Focusing on the physiological, psychological and sport medicine aspects of training, performance, injury and safety, The Science of Motorsport is the first book to provide an accessible and up-to-date resource for stakeholders at all levels of motorsport. Addressing the physiological and psychological stresses of racing across a full range of sports, from Formula 1 and IndyCar to NASCAR and endurance racing, the book includes chapters on: * nutritional and physical training strategies for drivers; * the driver's neck; * injury rates and pathologies of open-wheel driving; * return to competition from concussion; * driver safety; * and considerations for pit crews and safety staff. Accessibly written and made up of contributions from world-leading authorities in motorsport science research, this is a crucial resource for racing drivers, physical trainers, pit crew members and safety personnel, as well as researchers and students with an interest in applied sport physiology, applied sport psychology or sport medicine.

Not only has Cosworth designed and supplied many race car engines, which won F1, CART, and many other Championship races, but it has also produced many celebrated high-performance road-car engines. In more recent times, its growing expertise in developing electronic data capture components, and in providing ultra-high-tech engine manufacturing facilities, has made it a world leader. The expansion continues, and in this book the Cosworth story has been brought up-to-the-minute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the legendary DFV F1 engine.

This revised reprint of a classic title covers the history and development of the racing Corvettes, from the car's beginnings in the 1950s with just 250 horsepower, through the Corvette GTP of the 1980s, with over 1000 horsepower, and on to 1996 when 4th generation cars give way to the 5th generation. Included are many interviews with the drivers who raced these exciting, weighty and always fast cars, including John Greenwood, Dick Gulstrand, Jerry Grant and `Fast' Phil Curring, amongst others. The book is illustrated with many quality photographs, supplied by General Motors and well-known motoring photographers; it also contains detailed specifications of the production cars, and road test reports.

This is the story of Graham Warner and his plucky London-based dealership/race team, the Chequered Flag, which bested all-comers in most major motorsport disciplines. A former RAF man, Warner competed at international level as a sports car driver, created the Gemini brand of Formula Juniors as a manufacturer, fielded cars on behalf of Lotus, Brabham and McLaren as an entrant, and as a talent spotter, he gave Jim Clark his maiden start in a single-seater, later running drivers such as Jackie Stewart, Jackie Ickx, Piers Courage and many more on motorsport's nursery slope. Having reached the pinnacle of Formula One with a privateer Brabham, Warner changed tack and fielded the fearsome Lancia Stratos with memorable success in rallying, before returning to his first love of aviation. Here for the first time is the full history of one of the unsung heroes of motorsport.

Best known for his extraordinary skills at the wheel of racing cars, Stirling Moss was also an extremely effective rally driver. He entered many rallies from the early 1950s on, usually achieving top ten results in a variety of makes, initially Sunbeam-Talbot and in later years Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Saab. He very nearly won the Monte Carlo Rally at his first attempt in 1952, losing only narrowly to Sydney Allard, and then went on to join the exclusive club of rally drivers who won a coveted Coupe d'Or on the Alpine Rally, one of the toughest events in the calendar. His contribution to pace notes, based on the technique used in his astounding Mille Miglia win with Denis Jenkinson, is told here, together with his abortive attempt at the East African Safari Rally with his brother- in-law, Eric Carlsson. Africa was not kind to Moss - he nearly died on another rally when stranded in a remote part of the Sahara Desert and was lucky to be rescued. The cars he drove, the teams, the co-drivers, all are covered in this record of the amazing and often overlooked rally driving career of the legendary Stirling Moss.

The inspirational story of the female motorsport pioneer who broke through the gender barrier to compete in and win some of the most iconic rallies in the world. Rosemary Smith is recognised internationally for her outstanding achievements in the world of motorsport. A female pioneer in a notoriously male-dominated sport, she drove in the Monte Carlo rally eight times, winning the Coupe des Dames on numerous occasions as well as competing in most other iconic rallies all over the world, including the London to Sydney in 1968, the World Cup London to Mexico in 1970 and the East African Safari Rally in the 1970s. In a Hillman Imp, Rosemary won the Tulip Rally outright, beating all the male drivers to the finish. Now, for the first time, Rosemary reveals the inside story of her amazing life, recounting many memorable adventures and exploits both on and off the track. But Rosemary's story is not all fast cars and marathon rallies. She writes with honesty about her early life, about a disastrous marriage and money troubles - and how she overcame it all.

To mark the 70th anniversary of Ferrari, this book does not wish to be a new story about the prestigious marque, but a tribute to the Prancing Horse and its golden years, when it was led by just one man: Enzo Ferrari. From the opportunity of publishing absolutely new photographic material recently acquired by Giorgio Nada Editore, comes "Ferrari The Golden Years". It is a book illustrated by the pictures taken by one of the most observant photographers of Ferrari, Franco Villani. With powerful and evocative photographs, the work covers the era of the man and his unrepeatable creation, from the end of the '40s - when the 125 first rolled into the factory's courtyard - to the '80s, when the Commendatore died on a midsummer's morning.

In the most glittering era of sports car racing, the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Lola T70 and its descendants radiated star quality. These big racers, both brutal and beautiful, graced the Can-Am stage in North America as open spyders and the world sports car championship as closed coupes. Powered by big American V8 engines, they were massively fast and exceedingly popular, both with fans and the racers themselves. In this important new book, which has taken Lola enthusiast Gordon Jones three decades to complete, the racing history of the T70 and the Can-Am models that followed -- from T160 to T310 -- is exhaustively recorded, complete with a superb array of over 600 photographs. All sports car devotees will treasure this labour of love.

The definitive reference to the lives and achievements of 2,500 international racing drivers The World Encyclopaedia of Racing Drivers is a remarkable work of precedented scale that charts the lives and achievements of over 2,500 racing drivers from 1894 to the present day, from all eras and countries. As well as featuring the many great champions who have graced the world's circuits, this three-volume set also highlights numerous obscure and little-known characters who have made the sport so compelling. The result of many years of endeavour by a dedicated author, this work breaks new ground in motor racing research and will be treasured by anyone interested in the history of the sport.

With nine victories, he holds the record for the most wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours - and he has written motorsport history. The Book, however, is more than just Tom Kristensen's chronicle of his successes at Le Mans: it takes the reader on an exciting journey through four decades full of emotions - from petrol pumps at his parents' filling station in Denmark to champagne showers in front of 250,000 fans at the world's greatest motor race. Private and never-seen-before pictures, untold stories, new facts and personal insights as told by Kristensen himself make The Book unique. Published in a very large, sumptuous format to best display its superb photographs, The Book will be treasured by the Danish hero's legions of fans and all motorsport enthusiasts captivated by the Le Mans 24 Hours.

This book takes the reader behind the scenes at Maranello Concessionaires Ltd, Britain's famous Surrey-based importer of Ferraris founded by Colonel Ronnie Hoare. When Neill Bruce first photographed a Ferrari road car, a Dino 246 GT, in 1971, his work so impressed the powers-that-be at Maranello Concessionaires that they commissioned him to do all their promotional photography thereafter. Whether shooting production cars, factory scenes or motor show stands, he has been in Ferrari's orbit ever since. In this illustrated memoir of his 50 years with Ferraris, he presents some of his best pictures - the great majority in colour - and tells engaging stories about how they came about, including some of the mishaps along the way. All Ferrari enthusiasts will be captivated by this delightful book.

Forty cars lined up for the first Indianapolis 500. We are still waiting to find out who won.
The Indy 500 was created to showcase the controversial new sport of automobile racing, which was sweeping the country. Daring young men risked life and limb by driving automobiles at the astonishing speed of 75 miles per hour with no seat belts, hard helmets, or roll bars. When the Indianapolis Speedway opened in 1909, seven people were killed, some of them spectators. Oil-slicked surfaces, clouds of smoke, exploding tires, and flying grit all made driving extremely hazardous, especially with the open-cockpit, windshield-less vehicles. Most drivers rode with a mechanic, who pumped oil manually while watching out for cars attempting to pass, and drivers would sometimes throw wrenches or bolts at each other during the race. The night before an event the racers would take up a collection for the next day's new widows.
Although the 1911 Indy 500 judges declared Ray Harroun the official winner, there is reason to doubt that result, since Speedway authorities ordered the records to be destroyed. But "Blood and Smoke "is about more than a race. It is the story of America at the dawn of the automobile age, a country in love with speed, danger, and spectacle.

Following the book Lancia Rally Group B, Sergio Remondino has returned to the rallying world with a book examining the golden age of Lancia in the World Rally Championship. We start in the early Sixties, when a numerous group of enthusiasts began using Lancia cars - Appia, Flavias and even Flaminias - for the road races of the time, the forerunners of the rallies that were to come. The creation of HF at the behest of Cesare Fiorio, together with the advent of the Fulvia, created an authentic watershed and the definitive consecration of the Lancia marque on a global level. Between 1962 and 1982, Lancias conquered one Constructors' title and four European Championships, three Constructors' World Championships and two FIA Drivers' cups, writing indelible chapters in the history of the sport, thanks to drivers and cars of absolute excellence, all of which relive in this invaluable book.

From an early age, Lee McKenzie had access to a motorsport world that most are rarely allowed into. From spending time in the paddock as a teen to becoming a highly respected Formula One journalist and presenter, Lee has been at the heart of motorsport for almost twenty years. On the frontline of one of the most watched sports on the planet and gaining the respect of F1 world champions with her tough but fair interview approach, Lee has shared experiences, hire cars, parties and friendships with a host of drivers from Michael Schumacher to Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to Jenson Button. Inside F1 tells the stories of the careers of seven stars of the sport using her personal contact and interviews throughout the years. Lee's unique perspective takes us through the highs and lows, the controversies and crashes that led to some of the biggest and most memorable interviews in recent years. Lee's close relationship with the drivers makes Inside F1 an enthralling behind-the- scenes account of one of the biggest sports in the world.

Like a medieval astrologer peering at the heavens, author Jeff Scott continues to interpret the cycles, epicycles, and motorcycles of the spinning planets of Speedway in this his latest book: Quantum of Shale. As he engages with the myriad social and cultural gears that power this unique engine of British working class sport, Scott seeks to determine whether the forces that turn these wheels within wheels are centrifugal or centripetal. Will Speedway adjust to the increasing challenges of 21st Century Britain and so plot an enduring course towards significance and survival? Or will it succumb to the general nihilistic inertia of our time and spin itself out into social irrelevance and extinction? As in his other critically acclaimed works documenting the current status of Speedway, Quantum of Shale follows Scott's travels around Britain as he visits Speedway tracks on race day. There he observes and participates in the sport's rituals, culture and traditions that have engendered the fierce loyalties of its primarily blue collar fan base. Yet, while he does this with respect and affection, Scott also acknowledges those trends that appear to conspire to knock Speedway from its orbit. Whether from aging fans to increasingly obsolete and inconvenient venue sites, complex rules, the idiosyncrasies and travails of management all set in the context of a pitiless economic calculus that scars the curve of a beautiful but undervalued sport. Quantum of Shale joins Jeff Scott's other critically acclaimed works on British Speedway: Showered in Shale, When Eagles Dared, Shifting Shale, Shale Britannia, along with Concrete for Breakfast, nominated for the 2009 British Sports Book of the year (Biography section). Together they constitute a body of work unique in its dedication to a sport as well as the social and cultural scope of its subject, and the compassion of its author.

Lime Rock Park, the oldest continuously operated road course in America came about more by accident than design. Construction of the course began in 1955 at a time when open road racing had been banned in many states, and the use of military and civil airport runways for racing was losing favor with the paying spectators. Dubbed ‘The Road Racing Center of the East’ the park has a turbulent history bedevilled by financial crises, discord with the SCCA New England Region and expensive court cases involving the Lime Rock Protective Association. Despite the struggle to keep the circuit afloat, it prevailed against all odds. This book narrates this history of mixed fortunes during the first twenty years of the park’s existence when it was under the ownership of four different people and contains material unseen before including over 900 images.

The history of the rear-engined Birdcage Maseratis: Tipo 63, 64 and 65. 1959-1965. The competition history and technical specifications of all 10 rear-engined Birdcage Maseratis constructed, and their direct competition: Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, Cooper, Lister, Scarab, Chaparral, Sting Ray and Old Yaller Also included is the background of the private team owners who bought the cars: Briggs Cunningham, Count Volpi, Lucky Casner, and John Simone.