The Indy Car Wars

The Indy Car Wars PDF

Author: Sigur E. Whitaker

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-10-22

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 0786498323

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The world of Champ Car auto racing was changing in the 1970s. As cars became more sophisticated, the cost of supporting a team had skyrocketed, making things difficult for team owners. In an effort to increase purses paid by racing promoters and win lucrative television contracts, a group of owners formed Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1978. Soon after, CART split from its sanctioning body, the United States Auto Club (USAC). Though Champ Cars ran on numerous tracks, the Indianapolis 500 was the payday that supported most teams through the season. From the beginning, CART had most of the successful teams and popular drivers, and they focused on driving a wedge between the track owners and the USAC. Over the next 30 years, the tension between CART and USAC ebbed and flowed until all parties realized that reunification was needed for the sake of the sport. This book details the fight over control of Champ Car racing before reunification in 2008.

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing PDF

Author: John Oreovicz

Publisher:

Published: 2021-05-30

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9781642340563

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Tradition, technology, and personal bravery combined to make the Indianapolis 500 one of the world's most famous sporting events. However, political infighting within the industry--which climaxed with a 12-year "Split" from 1996 to 2007 between competing forms of Indy car racing--prevented the sport from achieving its potential. The Split seriously tarnished the reputation of the Indianapolis 500 and allowed NASCAR to become America's most popular form of motorsport. But Indy car racing's dysfunction didn't originate in 1996. The story begins in 1945, when a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana named Tony Hulman rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from potential redevelopment. Over the next 75 years, the Hulman-George family used the stature of the Speedway to carve out a powerful position in American auto racing. Stewardship of the IMS often brought the family into conflict with Indy car competitors. A volatile period in the late 1970s resulted in the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and tensions ramped up even more when Hulman's grandson, Tony George, assumed power in 1990. The Split forced Indy car fans, sponsors, broadcasters and participants to choose sides. It created confusion and animosity and caused tremendous damage to the sport. With negotiations driven by legendary racer Mario Andretti and actor/racer Paul Newman, The Split was finally resolved in 2008, only for George to walk away less than three years later from the role he so desperately coveted. The long struggle for stability and leadership was finally resolved in 2020 when Roger Penske acquired IMS and the IndyCar Series.

The Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 PDF

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.

Indy Car Racing

Indy Car Racing PDF

Author: Lori Polydoros

Publisher: Capstone

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 1429699957

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"Describes Indy cars and Indy car racing, including safety features and rules governing Indy car races"--Provided by publisher.

Indy

Indy PDF

Author: D. Bruce Scott

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9780976614906

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Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500 PDF

Author: Art Garner

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2014-05-06

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1250017785

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Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild "Book of the Year" 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.

Indy Car Champion

Indy Car Champion PDF

Author: Ned Wicker

Publisher: Motorbooks International

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9780760303948

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A "behind the scenes" look at Indy Car racing through the Target/Chip Ganassi 1996 Champion Racing Team. With champion driver Jimmy Vasser and second place teammate driver Alex Zanardi running fast all season, this is THE team to follow in Indy Car Racing. Catch the excitement of running wheel-to-wheel at over 200 mph with the team that won it all. Ned Wicker is the editor of Indy Car Racing Magazine and a broadcaster for Indy Car events.

Indy 500

Indy 500 PDF

Author: Nancy Roe Pimm

Publisher: Darby Creek

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9781581960211

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Every year the world's greatest athletes compete in events that crown a champion. In baseball, it's the World Series. In football, it's the Super Bowl. In soccer, it's the World Cup. For auto-racing athletes, it's the Indianapolis 500. Every May, drivers from all over the world come to race in the Indy 500. They push themselves and their cars for 200 laps at more than 200 miles per hour. These men and women take sharp turns, fly down straightaways, make pit stops, and zigzag for position. At the end of the day, one car--one driver--will take the checkered flag. Only one can be the Indy 500 Champion! Take a spin in the fast lane--the inside track--to find out about the Indy 500!