In this behind the scenes book, Mitch Bishop and Mark Raffauf tell the inside story of how IMSA became a global powerhouse in just a few short years. It covers John Bishop's early life, his years at the SCCA and tells the story of how IMSA grew from humble beginnings in 1969 into the Camel GT Series, a circuit that became the most popular form of professional sports car racing in the world. This book is a must-read, for those interested in how it all happened and in learning critical management lessons still applicable in today's motor racing world.

In 1969, John Bishop and Bill France, Sr. acted on a collective vision to plot a new course for road racing in the United States. What began as a Formula Ford and Formula Vee race in October of 1969, quickly morphed into a sports car racing series that brought the aspirational cars people drove, or wished to drive, to compete on a racetrack.Thus the International Motor Sports Association, or IMSA as it is more commonly known, was founded, and not long after domestic and import car-makers took notice as did the leading sports car racing drivers from at home and abroad. Today, 50 years after Bishop and France hatched their plan over a glass or two of scotch, compelled by a shared passion to bring competitive racing for drivers and teams that would captivate fans and fuel the sale of sports cars in showroom across America, IMSA has stayed true to their vision.Along the way, there have been some twists. Yet, in whatever the form it was at the time, IMSA has undeniably produced a bounty of great sports car racing that often has witnessed the titans of the sport battle each other for supremacy. Today, IMSA continues to be a collection of legendary events contested by an international field of drivers and teams behind the wheel of the world¿s most illustrious automobile marques.Celebrating 50 years of IMSA, this book reacquaints us with just some of the people, cars and events through images and words from the sport¿s leading photographers and journalists that have played a role in creating IMSA¿s lore. Across these pages is journey of highlights and reminiscences, facts and possibly a tale or two to recall a fraction of what has transpired throughout IMSA¿s history, but will certainly inspire memories of your own.

In Porsche 911: 50 Years, bestselling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world's premiere sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche's rear-engined wonder. Randy tells the whole story--design and development, racing and competition, engineering and technology, style and culture. All the iconic 911 models are included: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the little Porsche a dominant force on the world's racetracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the performance flame alight during the dark, dismal decade of the 1970s; the fabled 959, the model that redefined the term "sports car"; the 993, last of the original air-cooled models; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium. Beyond telling the story of the cars, Porsche 911: 50 years also spotlights the people behind them: Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets make Porsche 911: 50 Years the most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan's library.

Forget the rule book and relive one of the most exciting race series ever with Can-Am 50th Anniversary! The first rule of Can-Am: There are no rules. Or at least damn few rules. The bodywork had to enclose the wheels and there had to be something that loosely resembled a passenger seat--if your passenger was a badly misshapen human or perhaps a lab monkey. Otherwise, set your racing mind free. No limits to engine options or output, no restrictions on aerodynamic aids or body shape. It was as close to unrestricted road racing as racing had ever gotten or would ever get again. And it was fantastic. From its introduction in 1966 to the end of its classic period in 1974, North America's Can-Am series was the most exciting, technologically advanced, and star-studded racing series of the day. Its essentially rules-free formula attracted everyone from crazed backyard engineers to specialists like McLaren, Chaparral, Shadow, and Lola to manufacturers like Ford, Ferrari, Chevrolet, and Porsche. Top drivers including Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, Parnelli Jones, Bruce McLaren, Denis Hulme, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Mark Donohue, Peter Revson, Jim Hall, Jody Scheckter, Chris Amon, George Follmer and John Surtees competed on tracks across the US and Canada taking time off from Formula One schedules and other duties to drive in Can-Am because the racing and the cars were so exciting. Can-Am 50th Anniversary offers a heavily illustrated look back at what is arguably the greatest race series ever to grace the roadracing circuits of North America. Photographer Pete Biro was Goodyear Tire’s official photographer and followed the series throughout the entire run from 1966-'74. The vast majority of the book’s images are unpublished or long out of circulation. Biro brings his unique perspective and his close relationship with the drivers, team owners, and constructors to bear on the captions while former AutoWeek editor George Levy provides an exciting text reflecting the thrill of Can-Am racing.

The story of champion race car driver John Paul Jr. and his battle with Huntington's Disease

Unmatched performance and a fantastic variety of cars and competitors made IMSA's Grand Touring Prototypes the most exciting sports-car racing series ever. Innovative technology and cutting-edge aerodynamics made GTP cars the fastest, most powerful road-course racers from 1981 to 1993.But GTP wasn't just about machinery. The cars were a reflection of the people who designed and raced them, who were every bit as diverse and intriguing as their vehicles. The series attracted competitors from every corner of the racing world. Privateers -- wealthy gentleman racers who made fortunes in careers that included radio broadcasting, trash collection, and even drug smuggling -- competed against professional drivers who had won Le Mans and other major races.Prototypes is the first complete history of this remarkable series. Through candid interviews with team principals, drivers, and race organizers, this team-by-team account unflinchingly tells the stories of the men and women who raced these cars: their successes, their failures and the reasons why. Illustrated with behind-the-scenes team photos and supported by full race results, Prototypes is an intimate look at the last Golden Age of sports-car racing.

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.

This beautifully illustrated photographic history chronicles Porsche's half-century in motorsport, covering the evolution of the marque's race cars, the developing technologies, drivers, and the common thread that links the 550 Spyder of the carefree 1950s to 911 GT cars of today. Each car featured is examined in the context of its race record and specifications. Interviews with drivers and engineers are accompanied by an in-depth examination of such feats as Porsche's unmatched 16 wins at Le Mans and a gallery of contemporary photography, technical drawings, and specially commissioned paintings that depict 50 years of Porsches at the world's greatest circuits.

Upon France’s defeat of the vaunted Prussian army at the Battle of Valmy in 1792, German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe remarked, “From this place and from this day forth commences a new era in the world’s history.” The pronouncement proved prescient, for this first major victory emboldened France’s revolutionary government to end the monarchy and establish the first French Republic—with dramatic consequences for the wars that soon roiled the continent. In nine essays by leading scholars, European Armies of the French Revolution, 1789–1802 provides an authoritative, continent-wide analysis of the organization and constitution of these armies, the challenges they faced, and the impact they had on the French Revolutionary Wars and on European military practices. The volume opens with editor Frederick C. Schneid’s substantial introduction, which reviews the strategies and policies of each participating state throughout the wars, establishing a clear context for the essays that follow. Drawing on the latest research and thought, each contributor focuses on the army of a particular power: France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Britain, Spain, the German principalities, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire. Their essays examine the system, tactics, operations, and strategies that each army adopted and developed in the Revolutionary Wars. The authors explore the conflicts’ wider influence on these policies and practices, along with significant battles and actions. Unique in its approach and reach, this volume offers a thorough and closely observed view of the composition, scope, and purpose of the European armies at the turn of the nineteenth century. It enhances and extends our insights into how the military powers of the post–French Revolutionary era—and thus, the era itself—took shape.