From 1949 through 1998, many of NASCAR's most memorable cars have come from Dearborn. Modern and archival color photos feature legendary cars like the Talladega, Torino, Galaxie and Thunderbird, as well as the men who have driven them, such as Bobby Unser, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Also highlighted is Ford's role in the 1960s Aero-Wars, when the Big Three developed groundbreaking aerodynamic effects specifically for NASCAR. Includes the Taurus that debuted on the NASCAR circuit in 1998.
As he did in his smash success, Vintage and Historic Stock Cars, Craft has filled this new book with fascinating histories of some of the most significant stock cars ever to battle on the highbanks and short tracks of NASCAR. His detailed accounts of the cars and their builders, tuners, and drivers are accompanied by beautiful color photography, most of which show cars that are faithfully restored. Readers are treated to the compelling stories behind these famous cars, some built by legendary craftsmen like Holman & Moody and others raced by champions such as Richard Petty.
As soon as there were automobiles, there was racing. The first recorded race, an over road event from Paris to Rouen, France, was organized by the French newspaper Le Petit Journal in 1894. Seeing an opportunity for a similar event, Hermann H. Kohlsaat--publisher of the Chicago Times-Herald--sponsored what was hailed as the "Race of the Century," a 54-mile race from Chicago's Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois, and back. 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. Race cars and competition have progressed continuously since that time, and today's 200 mph races bear little resemblance to the event Duryea won. This work traces American auto racing through the 20th century, covering its significant milestones, developments and personalities. Subjects included are: Bill Elliott, dirt track racing, board track racing, Henry Ford, Grand Prix races, Dale Earnhardt, the Vanderbilt Cup, Bill France, Gordon Bennett, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Mercer, the Stutz, Duesenberg, Frank Lockhart, drag racing, the Trans Am, Paul Newman, vintage racing, land speed records, Al Unser, Wilbur Shaw, the Corvette, the Cobra, Richard Petty, NASCAR, Can Am, Mickey Thompson, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon, and Formula One. Through interviews with participants and track records, this text shows where, when and how racing changed. It describes the growth of each different form of auto racing as well as the people and technologies that made it ever faster.
Bowling Green became the city of speed immediately after World War II as America began its love affair with the automobile. Stock car racing took the city by storm in its inaugural season of 1951, drawing crowds of up to 7,000 in a city of only 18,000. Soon thereafter, the city attracted the Chevrolet Corvette assembly plant followed by the National Corvette Museum. Images of Sports: Bowling Green Stock Car Racing documents the history of stock car racing in Bowling Green and the emergence of the raceway at Beech Bend Park. Larry Upton is a bank executive in Gilbert, Arizona. He has written for the Journal of Commercial Bank Lending and the Journal of Arizona History. Jonathan Jeffrey, special collections librarian at Western Kentucky University's Kentucky Library, has written a number of books about the city's heritage. Many of the images used in this book came from the collection of Marshall Love Jr.
More than Mustang and Cougar. Though the Mustang remains Ford’s most famous muscle car, the company had been building muscle cars since it introduced the sleek Fairlane and Galaxie models with optional 390 cubic-inch big-block V-8 engines in 1961. These cars were part of Ford’s Total Performance program, which tested cars in the crucible of racing at drag strips, oval circuits, European rally events, and road courses, resulting in legendary muscle cars like the Shelby Mustang, Boss 302 and 429 Mustangs, Mercury Cougar, Cyclone GT, and Spoiler. The Complete Book of Classic Ford and Mercury Muscle Cars covers all of Ford Motor Company’s high-performance muscle cars from the early 1960s to 1973. It’s the bible of muscle every disciple of Ford performance needs.
The story of Kar-Kraft began, as did many others in the automotive industry, with an axe to grind. In 1963, Ford was seriously interested in purchasing Ferrari. Ferrari was a legendary brand with considerable success in racing, and Ford saw the acquisition as a great way to be instantly successful in the racing arena. When Enzo Ferrari realized that Ford would not give him complete control of the racing program, he backed out of the deal late in the process. Ford had spent millions in vetting and audits, which then set in motion a vengeful response against Ferrari. The result was the unthinkable: Ford beat Ferrari at Le Mans. Ford wanted to become competitive quickly, but it did not have the race history or resources in house. To remedy the situation, Ford searched the U.K. for an independent company to help accelerate its race car development. It first settled on Lola Cars and set up Ford Advanced Vehicles. Later, Ford brought its LeMans effort to the U.S. and the Kar-Kraft relationship was established. Although Kar-Kraft was technically an independent company, it really only had one customer: Ford Special Vehicles. Kar-Kraft's story doesn't begin and end with the GT 40 that took the win away from Ferrari at Le Mans. Ford expanded upon the program and organized an all-out assault on racing in general. Cars were prepared for Trans-Am, NASCAR, NHRA, and Can-Am competition. Street versions of the Boss 429 were assembled under its roof. And fabled prototypes including the LID Mustang, Boss 302 Maverick, and Mach 2C were all assembled in Ford's contracted race shop. And then, out of the blue, its doors closed for good on a cold day in 1970. History tells us that Ford won Le Mans, the Daytona 500, and the Trans-Am championship. But it doesn't tell us how this was accomplished. Author Charlie Henry (a former Kar-Kraft employee) has enlisted the help of many of his former co-workers to bring you the very first book ever published on Ford's all-encompassing special projects facility, Kar-Kraft. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial}
The unmistakable influence of the Mustang on the racing world is seen here in endurance and drag, Trans Am, and GT racing. This major volume draws on the history of factory and privately sponsored efforts to lavishly chronicle the history of factory-produced models that have been put to the test as racing machines. Vivid historical and contemporary images reveal Mustang's 35+ years of competitive racing history.
Follow Ford's leap into the 1960s and the performance era--on the streets and on the track! In the early 1960s, Ford Motor Company underwent a dramatic change in corporate philosophy. Previously, under Ford's young chairman, Henry Ford II ("the Deuce") safety, not performance, was the goal. But by 1962, even the chairman realized his philosophy needed to change. Ford was nearly invisible to car-crazy baby boomers. Lee Iacocca convinced Ford that he needed to act decisively or risk losing the emerging youth market to the competition. Thus began Ford's "Total Performance" program. Ford Total Performance is all about Ford's prime racing era from 1961 through 1971. In addition to purpose-built race cars, it also covers production performance cars, specialty models, and unique concepts such as lightweight drag race cars. The book explores the 427 Fairlane Thunderbolt; Mercury Comet; unique V-8 Falcons that competed in the 1963 and 1964 Monte Carlo Rallies; Dick Brannan's 427 A/FX drag car; Ford Indy 500 winning race cars; 427 Overhead Cam SOHC 427 engines as used in A/FX and fuel race cars; Boss 302 and 429 Mustangs for street, drag racing, and Trans-Am; and many more. The Ford-Ferrari war that led to the creation of the legendary GT40 Le Mans race cars isn't forgotten. Featuring unpublished period photographs, plus photos and artwork from Ford designers, Ford Total Performance covers all of Ford's classic race and street cars, including Cobras and Shelby Mustangs. It's a must-have book for any fan of classic American performance cars!
This new revised and updated edition is the ultimate buyer's/seller's/user's guide for American automobiles manufactured from 1805 to 1942. With more than 5,000 photos and histories of cars and their companies written by one of America's most respected automotive historians, this is the most extensive automobile reference available.
