Product Description
Text and photographs present different kinds of racing cars and explore their history and future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Information Overload
This book delivers exactly what the subtitle promises - unfortunately. It is the result of a great deal of time and effort from a competent writer. It provides insights into the staffing and operation of a racing team that I haven't found anywhere else but keeping a reader's interest through a 17 race season is a difficult assignment.

Dedicated fans may love it but it was too much detail for a casual fan like me.

Inside Racing
I ordered this book to educate myself in a sport that I recently found exciting.It was the perfect fit!It was a diary of a complete season with Pacwest Racing Team; from the development of the team, search for sponsors, the day by day regime thru to winning. I knew I loved to watch Indy / Open Wheel racing, but really wanted a source to educate myself on the specifics of the team members and everyones roles, to car specifics and terms, and what it is all about to race in this sport.I found it to be quite informative, a little tedious at times due to the detail, but extremely helpful.I even re-read and used the book as a dictionary of Indy Racing terms, due to my growing knowledge as the book progressed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an indepth /behind the scenes feel for what Indy Racing is about!

Driver/Crew Chief details
I chose a group of books for researh for starting a race team, this was one...If you want detail, this has it, but let me warn... I feel there is too much time spent on the driver/crew chief talks duringwarm-up/qualifying/race.If you want to learn what goes on between the twothis book is for you.The nitty gritty detail of a year in racing is, inmy opinion, a bit lacking, but the detail of what goes on between thedriver and crew chief is terrific.Haney gets a bit lenghty in the middleraces of the season, he found a tape recorder, but rounds out the book backon the brief...while I enjoyed reading the details of weight jacking andspring adjustments, I found too much "car adjustment" detail andnot enough "a year in the life of..." details.

A feast for car racing nuts.
Paul arranged the year we'd all love to have: traveling with a top-line CART team and listening in to all their radio traffic on race weekends. He combines a talent for explaining technical issues with painstakingnote-taking (the part of the year we didn't have to worry about) andpresents it all with a fresh, self-effacing style.

The bulk of the bookis Paul's description of how engineers and drivers set up the PacWest cars.We can listen in as they drift in and out of the right setup, struggling tofind the right combination in this hugely competitive racing series.

Buyit if you're fascinated by the technical part of Champ Car racing. Stayaway if you're looking for brisk narrative about people or a tight dramaticstructure. This is hardcore racing.

If you're an auto racing fan, buy this book!
This is the book I've always wanted to read. I've been a fan of autoracing for many years, but no book has ever given a real "behind thescenes" look at what goes on in a top line race team. Haney's style isvery readable and gives a good honest potrayal of all the key members ofthe race team. None better! ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Twin Ring Motegiis an automobile racing track located at Motegi, Japan. Its name comes from the fact that there are two race tracks at the facility: a 2.493-kilometer (1.549 mi) oval and a 4.8-kilometer (2.98 mi) road course. It was built in 1997 by Honda, as part of Honda's effort to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan, helping to increase their knowledge of American open-wheel racing.The oval course is the only one of its kind in Japan, and currently is only used once a year for racing. It is a low-banked, 1.549-mile-long egg-shaped course, with turns 3 and 4 being much tighter than turns 1 and 2. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis 500-mile race has been regarded as the marquee event of the National Championship. As of 2008, the top-level American open wheel racing championship is sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. The open-wheeled, winged, single-seater cars have generally been similar to those in Formula One, though there are important differences. Due to the fame of the Indianapolis 500, the term Indy Car (or IndyCar, Indycar) is a more popular term used to describe the cars that would typically compete in U.S. Championship car racing, popularized during the rising popularity of CART PPG Indy Car World Series racing in the early 1990s. ... Read more

Product Description
The 1970s was the last creative decade at the great Speedway. The spirit of innovation was still strong in the 1970s, which Ludvigsen calls "The Last Creative Decade" at the great Speedway.

The turbocharged decade witnessed the extinction of the venerable four-banger Offy and the rise of the Cosworth V-8, which took Indy racing into the 1980s. A tire war and advanced aerodynamics saw speeds rise so sensationally that, as Ludvigsen says in his insightful Introduction, "The 1971 pole-winning speed wouldn't have qualified a driver for the 1972 race!"

Revealing intimate details of the last progressive and experimental decade at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this book is a must for fans of the world's greatest motor race. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review
I'm a fan of the Indy 500 and collector of 1/18 scale diecast models. These series of books are great in allowing me to have pictures of the cars that competed in the 500. The books also allowed me to see the stars of yesterday.

Indy Cars of the 1970's
Good job of displaying B/W photo's, but not much on the history of the cars or drivers! You'll like it if your not into reading! ... Read more

Product Description
Photographic and text history of the technological development of the Indy racing car, innovation, and racing experimentation. A lengthy introduction highlights advances during the early years to lay the foundation for the revolutionary changes in Indy car design that occurred during the 1960s. Each year of the decade is covered in detail to establish evolutionary changes from the classic Indy roadster to the modern engine-behind-the-driver layout, influence of Grand Prix designs that began with the Cooper-Climax of 1961, then Ford's stock block engine program with Lotus, then turbine cars, turbo-Offy powered cars, and associated technologies such as engines, tires, and aerodynamics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Last Years of Indy Innovation
Excellent coverage of the waning yet most prolific years of creativity at the 500. The apparent passing of the indomitable Offy to Ford and the 4-banger's turbo reincarnation. The transition from and the last hurrah of the roadsters as they succumb to the rear engine revolution ushered in by the Cooper-Brabham & Lotus. Early NASCAR names and dragracers try their hand with innovation. Granatelli brings the roar of the Novi the futuristic whine of the underhandedly outlawed turbine and finally get his Indy win with a Ford to close in 1969. Well covered in photos and detailed text.

A fresh Look at the most innovative eras at Indy
I recommend this great book if you are an Indy racing enthusiast. The more I get into it the more interesting it becomes. I have seen and read many books on the history of Indianapolis racing cars. While I first thought from the title and descriptions that it was about the 60's, on cracking it open it became apparant that it reviews many decades of innovation at Indy. What is also unique is that, although other books have covered these Indy eras, this one bring new pictures, annecdotes and some spin that brings new perspective to a subject that has been covered before in other titles. What is also apparant is that there probably exists even more material for even more indepth review of any of the eras presented; in particular not only the famous vehicle and engine designs that were successful, but also the more novel ones founded on apparantly sound principles(at least to their designers and supporters) that were never able to realise their supposed potential.

What it really brings to life however is a different time when "the cars were the stars", when innovation and trying different solutions was part of the competition. It was a much different time than the current era of limited technology in chassis and secret leased engine designs.

Lets hope that perhaps Indy might exercise some vision as it moves into its next engine formula to rekindle automotive creativity in racing that can be shared and appreciated by racing enthusiasts. How about Hybrid methanol/electric powered racing cars?

Nice photos, but not the most accurate text
Very nice photos -- particularly the abundance of color.Given the title, though, its surprising that at least a third of the book deals with Indy's early days.Interesting historical context, but not totally on point.

There are a number of minor inaccuracies distributed throughout the book, particularly regarding misspelled names.Also, much of the core 1960's narrative draws heavily on Leo Levine's Ford -- The Dust and The Glory.At times it reads almost like a book report.More seriously, there is at least one instance that borders on plagiarism:in describing Jim Clark's initial impressions of the Indianapolis track, the author says that Clark found it a bit dull.From Clark's autobiography "Jim Clark at the Wheel" Clark states (referring to the same) that "overall I found it a bit dull." ... Read more