Archive for Author 'Donald Capps', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

The First American Grand Prix: The Savannah Auto Races, 1908–1911

by Tanya A. Bailey

Savannah, Georgia may be a hotbed for many things, but racing?
International participants declared the course America’s greatest and the author is certainly its greatest fan.

Fabulous Fifties: American Championship Racing

by Dick Wallen et al

An important book about an important time in racing. That sort of racing has long since stopped but this 20-year-old book is still in print! Don’t miss it.

Riverside Raceway: Palace of Speed

by Dick Wallen; by Michael Jordan (editor)

For 32 years, pretty much anybody who was anybody raced pretty much anything on this relatively dangerous course. Located not too far from Hollywood means you may well have seen it on TV shows or in movies.

Seventies Championship Revolution

by Dick Wallen; Michael Jordan, editor

Aerodynamics were the big thing in the 1970s. This book takes a good, but not perfect, look at an era that saw great experimentation. Also covers dirt racing.

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

by Art Garner

It looked as if the entire grandstand was on fire. A.J. Foyt likened it to an atomic bomb going off. Chaos, chaos everywhere. A lot has been written about that day but this is the one book that the folks who were there say you ought to read.

Caribbean Capers: The Cuban Grand Prix Races of 1957, 1958 & 1960

by Joel E. Finn

A wild era in racing is captured here in grand detail and fabulous photos. Probably the only book on the subject and certainly the only one you’d want or need.

USRRC: A Record of the United States Road Racing Championship, 1963–1968

by Mike Martin

This SCCA series—the first for pro drivers—is a topic long-overlooked in the literature. Just as well, because this is the only book you’d want anyway.

Maserati 250F

by David McKinney

Some called it the most beautiful Grand Prix machine of all time. Even replicas today fetch astronomical sums. Many years in the making and combining the efforts of several experts, this excellent book is the best effort yet at sorting out which chassis did what.

Lotus 72: Formula One Icon

by Michael Oliver

First fielded in 1970 this wedge on wheels racked up a winning streak that remained unmatched for almost a decade. Obviously not everything was sunshine and light.

Nuvolari: Legendary Champion of International Auto Racing

by Count Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani with Luigi Martinatto

Tens of thousands are said to have attended the funeral of “The Flying Mantuan,” the fastest driver of the day—who had selected the tortoise as his mascot. He was a legend in his lifetime. But why?

Thunder at Sunrise

by John M. Burns

This book puts the story of America’s first three races of international stature in the context of the developing auto industry and juxtaposes them with their European predecessors.

The Fairmount Park Motor Races: 1908–1911

by Michael J. Seneca

You’d think that an event that drew half a million spectators in its first year stayed in people’s memory. It lasted only four years and, in telling why, this book closes a gap in the annals of motor racing history.