Product Description
This book takes readers into Gasoline Alley during one of the most evocative and exciting eras in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway-before the rear-engine Lotus took over. Karl Ludvigsen covered the Indianapolis 500 in 1956 and the Monza 500 in 1958. From his photo archives comes this panorama of the fabulous front-engine Indy racing cars of the 1950s. These were the years of the Kurtis Roadsters, the lay-downs, the first Watsons, the formidable Novis, the V-12 Ferrari, the Bardahl-Ferrari, the Blue Crowns, and the invincible Offenhausers. Stunningly sharp photography shows the cars, their engines, and their designs in amazing detail. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Indy Cars of the 1950's
Good B/W photo's, but little depth on the subject of the cars or drivers!

Needs a reprint...
The Ludvigsen Indy Car series is a wonderful collection of photos with interesting commentary covering Indy Cars of the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.Indy Cars of the 50's was the first volume published, and went for $19.95 retail; the other volumes went for $24.95.Why more?Because the other volumes were printed on glossy stock, making the pictures gorgeous and crystal clear.This first volume is printed on plain paper stock, so the pictures are fuzzy, and the paper isn't as opaque, allowing "see-through" of the picture on the opposite side of the page.I'd gladly pay the extra $5 for a reprint on the same high-quality stock as the other books in this series!

OBJECTIVE COMMENTS
ALTHOUGH KARL'S NEW BOOK DOESN'T POSSESS A WEALTH OF INFORMATION IN PROSE,IMAGERY IS ALWAYS HELPFUL TO A SERIOUS HISTORIAN OR RESTORER WHO HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED THESE VEHICLES 'FIRST HAND'.HE HAS TAKEN THE OLD ADAGE, "A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!" TO NEW HEIGHTS.ANY NEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS - THESE ARE PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME AS I UNDERSTAND IT - OF ANY SUBJECT OF INTEREST TO AN AUDIENCE BEARS SCRUTINY FOR DETAILS, POSSIBLY NEVER BEFORE UNCOVERED BY IMAGERY.THESE CARS ARE EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND QUITE UNIQUE IN THE WAY THEY ADDRESSED THE TASK OF GOING FAST AT THE SPEEDWAY AND OTHER OVAL TRACKS THEY PERFORMED ON.THE CRAFTSMANSHIP ON THESE MACHINES EXHIBITED FLAWLESS QUALITY IN THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL WITH WHICH THEY WERE EXECUTED.THEY WERE 'WORKS OF THE ART' IN MACHINED BILLET AND HAND-FORMED SHEET METAL.I HOPE FOR KARL'S SAKE, THERE IS ENOUGH INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER TO JUSTIFY THIS BOOKS UTILITY IN THIS NEW MELLENIUM.I ENCOURAGE ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN INDY ROADSTERS OF THIS ERA TO ENJOY KARL'S BOOK FOR WHAT IT IS AND NOT WHAT SOME THINK IT SHOULD BE!

Lacks content
Indy Cars of the 1950's is disappointing.Nice pictures, but the captions do not really capture the flavor of the period.Technical data is nil, consisting of two pages at the very front of the book.The bookunabashedly is tilted towards the products of Frank Kurtis, but contains noanecdotal information, technical discussions, or the like to flesh out theauthor's admiration.You can read the entire book in a 15 minute sitting. Quite disappointing - Joe Scalzo's book Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-64 ismuch better resource for this period of Indianapolis 500 history. ... Read more

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Product Description
Discusses the history and development of the race cars that have been used at the Indianapolis Speedway from the early 1900s to the present. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Filled in some gaps.
This book has filled in some gaps and reminded me of some things that I had forgotten.

great stuff
This is a great book for the Indy historian.Many, many rare pictures.Info not found in volumes 5 times this size.Book ends in early 80's, which is about when the Indy experimenting also ended.I've read it at least three times!great stories of inovations, some made it and some didn't.

Design and Development of the Indy Car
This book shows the evolution of the Indy Car from the early days until the early 1980s.This is a good reference book but will be very hard to find since it is out-of-print.These race cars were state-of-the-art in 1982. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Anatomy and Development of the Indy Race Car
This shows the evolution of the Indy Car (including CART Championship Cars) up to 1993.This is a good reference book.In 1996, CART boycotted the Indianapolis 500, but from 1979 to 1995, CART and the Indianapolis 500 used the same cars. ... Read more

Product Description
This second title in the Masters of Motion series puts kids and parents alike in the driver's seat as Indy driver Al Unser, Jr., shows how to rock 'n' roll behind the wheel of the most powerful racing car on the track today. Packed with full-color action photos, the book focuses on the individual skills involved in handling the car. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Hepful!!!!!!!!
This book helps you understand goes on in Indy Car racing. I recommed this book alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wish I'd had this book when I was a kid!
If you know a kid who's interested in racing, there's no better introduction to big-time motorsports than this book. It takes young readers (probably age 8 and up) inside the world of Champ Car racing, with thorough discussions of the drivers, cars, teams and events. When I was a kid, I had little concept of racing beyond the Indy 500, but a book like this would have added immensely to my understanding of the sport. The book's only shortcoming is that the information is somewhat dated now, but its young readers probably won't mind a bit. ... Read more

Product Description
In a nation that worships the automobile for the freedom, style, and status that it confers, the Indianapolis 500, run on or near Memorial Day eighty-seven times, is an annual rite of passage celebrating Americans’ love affair with speed.

Indy recounts the drivers (677 men and 3 women) who have gone to Indianapolis in the past ninety-five years to live their dreams, staking their lives on the outcome. It highlights the faces in the crowd: hardworking Americans, tinhorn celebrities, hookers, movie stars, gate-crashers, and five American presidents. Terry Reed focuses his narrative on the track’s four quarter-mile-long turns, each the site of triumphs (including those of such multiple winners as Billy Vukovich, A. J. Foyt, and Helio Castroneves); grisly deaths (at least sixty-six, including three unrelated men of the same unusual last name who died in the same turn but in different decades); and bizarre heroics (like the sans souci French driver who downed champagne throughout the 1913 Indy 500 and still won). Reed also examines Indy’s confluence of racing and aeronautics (World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker once owned the track) and the impact upon the event of such forces as segregation, gender politics, food, fads, publicity stunts, world-class partying, and tasteless pop culture.

Indy takes readers on an entertaining, full-throttle ride through the history of one of the world’s most famous races and one of America’s most hallowed rituals. It is the definitive account of the crown jewel of American motorsports. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Twenty-five more years of detail, racing events, and track insights
If Indy: The Race And Ritual Of The Indianapolis 500 sounds familiar, that's because this is the second updated edition of the most famous motorsport event of all time, adding twenty-five more years of detail, racing events, and track insights in an extensive updated revision. Others books have of course been written about the sport - many weightier tomes - but none with the lore, depth and detail of INDY: The Race And Ritual Of The Indianapolis 500.

Book missing key item--but a fun read for racing fan
The book misses one of the all-time worst incidents on Turn 4---the 1964 tragic accident involving Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald.Reed has done wonderful research....not a very good grammatical writer but well worth buying if you like the history of the Indy 500

A decent book
This book is okay. It wasn't what I thought it would be when I bought it. It focuses on the crashes on each part of the track, with the ritual of the Indy 500 talked about in a few pages. It did give a few tidbits of info on the race which I had never heard about. ... Read more

Product Description
ABC Sports Indy Racing is the only CD-ROM game that allows gamers to choose from eight authentic Indy tracks and four driving modules and place Indy Racing League drivers in their official team cars. This is the only authorized guide to the game, and it will feature exclusive material from Paul Page and Tom Sniva as they coach players throughout. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Los Angeles Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on August 23, 2010. The length of the article is 561 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Fontana track may take Indy cars out for a spin; raceway looks to replace loss of Nascar event in 2011.(AUTO RACING)
Author: David Nusbaum
Publication: Los Angeles Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 23, 2010
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 32Issue: 34Page: 10(1)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Spectacular photos depicting the grandeur of Texas
This book starts with a 27-page history of Texas, from when the Spaniards first arrived until 1990. It is followed by a series of superb photographs, most of which depict city scenes or the interior of historic buildings. A few capture the natural beauty found in the state, from wetlands and ocean harbors to desolate and nearly barren sand dunes. If you are interested in a series of glimpses into a state of great size and variety, then this is a book for you. My favorite pictures were of the San Antonio River Walk, one of the brightest places I have ever seen. ... Read more

Product Description
Each year, Indy Review provides the most definitive and comprehensive review of the Indy Racing League (IRL) season. The 1999 Review is no exception, with detailed reports and a full-colour photo spread for each of the season's eleven races. The world's premiere open-wheel motorsport scribes and photographers go behind the scenes to reveal all the race-day strategies, technological triumphs, and human drama that shaped the outcome of each race. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Forget NASCAR - Bring on the Open Wheelers !
For those outside the loop of racing, NASCAR garners a great deal of attention.Lost in all the attention paid to that series is a great style of racing collectively known as "open wheel" or "Champ Car."The series has evolved over the years but one thing has always remained.The races are fast, exciting and very competitive.How exciting?Put 800+ horsepower in a 1,600lb car that stands at knee level and enjoy the fun!If you are a fan - new or old - this series from Autocourse is a must-have.Autocourse started doing yearbooks 40+ years ago for the Formula One Grand Prix series and they have grown to include Champ Cars.They offer a tremendous amount of detail about the teams, drivers, cars, technical advances, etc.They also showcase the support series and the up-and-coming drivers in them.Each race is covered in detail with all qualifying times and finishing spots as well as highlights of the event itself.Photography is 100% incredible.That's another point.I enjoy doing my own photography and sometimes it's easy to lose track of things, especially if you don't get the film developed for a while.This book offers tremendous resource materials for someone maintaining photo albums of the events themselves.Basically, if you have a question about this style of racing, you'll find it in this book. On another note, this edition specifically covers arguably one of the greatest Indy 500 finishes of all time.

Indy car fans, This is a must for your collection.
The Autocourse book series is the best coverage of indy car racing, without having to buy a ticket to the race.Each book has extensive team coverage, and the added technical aspects that each book includes is incredible.The 1995 book is the last issue, before the C.A.R.T./I.R.L split.This book includes what many consider the last great year of American based racing with all of its top drivers.This year was also the last before the Target race team dynasty started.Great information for any race fan ... Read more