Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500
Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Author: Art Garner

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2014-05-06

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1250017785

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Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild "Book of the Year" Short-listed for 2015 PEN / ESPN Literary Award for Sports Writing Before noon on May 30th, 1964, the Indy 500 was stopped for the first time in history by an accident. Seven cars had crashed in a fiery wreck, killing two drivers, and threatening the very future of the 500. Black Noon chronicles one of the darkest and most important days in auto-racing history. As rookie Dave MacDonald came out of the fourth turn and onto the front stretch at the end of the second lap, he found his rear-engine car lifted by the turbulence kicked up from two cars he was attempting to pass. With limited steering input, MacDonald lost control of his car and careened off the inside wall of the track, exploding into a huge fireball and sliding back into oncoming traffic. Closing fast was affable fan favorite Eddie Sachs. "The Clown Prince of Racing" hit MacDonald's sliding car broadside, setting off a second explosion that killed Sachs instantly. MacDonald, pulled from the wreckage, died two hours later. After the track was cleared and the race restarted, it was legend A. J. Foyt who raced to a decisive, if hollow, victory. Torn between elation and horror, Foyt, along with others, championed stricter safety regulations, including mandatory pit stops, limiting the amount a fuel a car could carry, and minimum-weight standards. In this tight, fast-paced narrative, Art Garner brings to life the bygone era when drivers lived hard, raced hard, and at times died hard. Drawing from interviews, Garner expertly reconstructs the fateful events and decisions leading up to the sport's blackest day, and the incriminating aftermath that forever altered the sport. Black Noon remembers the race that changed everything and the men that paved the way for the Golden Age of Indy car racing.

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500
Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Author: Art Garner

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2014-05-06

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1250017777

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"Just before high noon on May 30th, 1964, the Indy 500 stopped for the first time in history. Seven cars had crashed in a fiery accident, killing two drivers, and threatening the very future of the 500. In this tight, fast-paced narrative, Art Garner expertly reconstructs the events, circumstances, and fatal decisions leading up to the sport's blackest day. Recalling a bygone era when drivers lived hard, raced hard, and at times died hard, Black Noon takes readers back to the last race won by a front-engined roadster, to before the switch from gasoline to methanol, to tell one of the great untold stories in sports. Informed by his extensive interviews including six of the seven surviving drivers, Garner brings to life the greatest names in racing - A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Unser, and Johnny Rutherford - focusing on Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald, the two very different drivers whose lives accelerated toward the same catastrophic end that day. Publishing for the 50th anniversary of this iconic event, Black Noon remembers the race that changed everything and the men that heralded the Golden Age of Indy car racing"--

Blood and Smoke
Blood and Smoke

Author: Charles Leerhsen

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-05-22

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1439149054

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One hundred years ago, 40 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 were driving automobiles at the astonishing speed of 75 miles per hour, testing themselves and their vehicles. With no seat belts, hard helmets or roll bars, the dangers were enormous. When the Indianapolis Motor 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. Bookmakers offered bets not only on who might win but who might survive. But this book 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.--From publisher description.

Indy 500
Indy 500

Author: Tom Carnegie

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 9780070506046

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Describes the cars, events, winners, and losers of the world's fastest and richest automobile race

The Curse of the Indy 500
The Curse of the Indy 500

Author: Stan Sutton

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2018-03-19

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1684350026

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On May 30, 1958, thousands of racing fans poured into the infield at dawn to claim the best seats of the Indianapolis 500, unaware that they were going to witness one of the most notorious wrecks in racing history. Seconds after the green flag, a game of chicken spiraled out of control into a fiery 16-car pile-up that claimed the life of 29-year-old Indiana native and rising star Pat O'Connor. The other drivers escaped death, but the tragic 1958 Indy 500 seemed to leave its mark on them: the surviving drivers were hounded by accidents and terrible crashes, and most would die at tracks around the country. But the tragedy also prompted new regulations and safety precautions like roll bars that would ultimately save hundreds of lives. In The Curse of Indy 500: 1958's Tragic Legacy, veteran sportswriter Stan Sutton profiles the ill-fated race and the careers of the drivers involved, highlighting their lives in the dangerous world of auto racing.

The Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500

Author: James Craig Reinhardt

Publisher: Red Lightning Books

Published: 2019-04-01

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 168435076X

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Known as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indy 500 humbly began in 1911. Labeled as the first speedway, this two-and-a-half-mile oval is now home to many of today's top races, including the Brickyard 400, the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the SportsCar Vintage Racing Association, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and its most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. In The Indianapolis 500: Inside the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, speedway tour guide and racing afficionado James Craig Reinhardt shares what makes the legendary racetrack special. He reveals the speedway's unbelievable history, fast-flying action, notorious moments, and its secrets, including facts about the beginning of the brickyard, why the drivers kiss the finish line, how milk became the drink of choice, and much more. The perfect gift for the veteran or rookie, The Indianapolis 500 is a must-have for all race fans.

Umbrella Mike
Umbrella Mike

Author: Brock W. Yates

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 9781560257769

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Traces the story of gangster Michael Joseph Boyle, describing his activities as a corrupt leader of Chicago's most powerful union, his friendly relationship with Al Capone, and the controversial events surrounding the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup competition.

Rapid Response
Rapid Response

Author: Stephen Olvey

Publisher: Evro Publishing Limited

Published: 2019-05-21

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9781910505397

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Originally published to great acclaim in 2006, Dr. Stephen Olvey’s memoir Rapid Response makes a long-awaited return to print — complete with new text and an afterword by Dario Franchitti — at the same time as the release of a documentary feature film of the same title. This book is the compelling story of the author’s often tragic, sometimes funny, and frequently frustrating journey through the volatile world of professional motorsports. Along the way, he introduces many of the characters — geniuses, good guys, bad guys — that he has encountered during his quest to save lives and make motorsports safer. Among the racing legends with whom Dr. Olvey has worked — and who have their places in this book — are Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, A.J. Foyt, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell, Rick Mears and Al Unser Jr. Dr. Olvey attended his first race, the 1955 Indianapolis 500, at the impressionable age of 11, and saw his favourite driver, Bill Vukovich, killed in a fiery crash while leading. He began working at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway while attending medical school, making his first professional appearance there in 1966, when his first on-track rescue involved Graham Hill in his rookie year. Dr. Olvey organised the first traveling medical team in motorsports and was eventually joined by long-time colleague and friend, Dr. Terry Trammell. Continuing to work together over several decades, Dr. Olvey and Dr. Trammell have used their study of the cause and effect of racing crashes and injuries to make significant advances in safety, with many lives saved and serious injuries avoided. The writer of the foreword is Alex Zanardi, whose life Dr. Olvey helped to save after a violent accident in Germany in 2001, and who subsequently returned not only to motorsports, but also to handcycling, becoming a three-time Paralympic gold medalist.

Why Winners Win
Why Winners Win

Author: Art Garner

Publisher: Pelican Publishing

Published: 1995-09-30

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9781455614257

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This is a special book about special people-Winners. Their attitudes can change the status quo; their fortitude helps them to climb mountains and endure tremendous burdens; they set their eyes on their goals and don't waver. The good news is you can be a Winner, too. What it takes to be a Winner can be learned. In this revised edition, Dr. Garner shows the reader the qualities, attitudes, and actions that will put one on the road to becoming a real Winner. Blending inspirational vignettes with humor, Garner takes the reader in hand and demonstrates how to acquire that shape attitudes, hone specific skills, and open previously locked doors to an exciting life of achievement. Included are chapters designed to dramatically alter one's view of oneself, one's thought patterns, and one's personal expectations. Garner teaches an effective method of motivation and shows how visualizing a goal is essential to reaching it. Among the key chapters are "Your Most Important Quality," "Keeping Your Hot Button Hot," "What You Set Is What You Get," as well as an all-new chapter entitled "Releasing Your Untapped Potential." To start any journey, one must take the first step. To become a Winner, begin with this book. Each chapter is followed by a section called "Wisdom for Winners"-pithy, commonsense guidelines to keep the would-be achiever on the upward path. Action sheets are provided to assist in charting progress.

Tony Hulman
Tony Hulman

Author: Sigur E. Whitaker

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-04-22

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1476614938

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Almost unknown when in 1945 he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its famous race, Tony Hulman soon became a household name in auto racing circles. He is credited not only with saving the Speedway from becoming a residential housing development but also with reinvigorating auto racing in the United States. Until his purchase of the Speedway, Hulman had not been involved in auto racing; he was the CEO of Hulman & Company, a wholesale grocer. An astute businessman, Hulman made Clabber Girl Baking Powder a national brand and successfully led the reorientation of the family fortunes to include a range of businesses including a beer company, a Coca-Cola franchise, a broadcast empire, and real estate and gas companies. This biography of Hulman covers his many ventures, particularly the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500, and his philanthropy.