American Auto Racing

As soon as there were automobiles, there was racing

As soon as there were automobiles, there was racing. The first American competition, a 54-mile race in 1895 from Chicago's Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois, and back, was won by 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.

Milestones and Personalities

Racing has progressed continuously since that time, and today's 200 mph contests bear little resemblance to the event Duryea won. This work traces American auto racing from the beginning through the present, covering its milestones, developments and personalities.

Growth, people and technologies

Subjects include dirt track racing, board track racing, Grand Prix races, Dale Earnhardt, the Vanderbilt Cup, Bill France and NASCAR, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Mercer, Frank Lockhart, drag racing, the Trans Am, vintage racing, land speed records, Al Unser, Wilbur Shaw, the Cobra, Richard Petty, Can Am, Mickey Thompson, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon, and many others.
American Auto Racing describes the growth of each form of American auto racing as well as the people and technologies that made it ever faster.

American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities

American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed by James A. Martin
ISBN: 0786412356

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