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.

A biography of Terry Labonte and his younger brother Bobby, who finished first and second, respectively, in the 1996 Winston Cup NAPA 500.

For race fans in America, the month of May has always meant one thing: the biggest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500. It's a race that has captured our attention from the moment Ray Harroun took the first checkered flag in 1911. Indy racing has been so fascinating because it has always been a showcase for racing technology -- big purses and major sponsors have ensured that Indy would always attract the fastest of the fast. Over the years, the 500 and its racers have produced a pendulum-like swing between periods of wild innovation and a conservative "run what wins" philosophy. The latter is exemplified by the '20s, when the Millers dominated so thoroughly, and the '50s, when the traditional Offy-powered roadsters ruled. The Miller era was upset by the Great Depression and subsequent introduction of the "Junk Formula" in 1930. The new rules resulted in a "run what ya brung" ethic that brought all kinds of machines and ideas to the brickyard. In the '40s though, it became clear that an Offy-powered roadster was the way to go, and those cars began a new era of domination that lasted into the early '60s. And that's when all hell broke loose. In 1961, a diminutive British Grand Prix car tried its hand at Indy. Jack Brabham's rear-engine Cooper-Climax didn't have the horsepower to beat the roadsters, but its light weight and nimble handling gave it a decided edge in the corners. Suddenly, the Offy roadsters were under attack. Rear-engine cars, stock-block engines, turbines, twin-engine Porsches, Diesels ... you name it, somebody tried racing it at Indy in the 1960s. The battle intensified when Ford entered the fray in 1963, leading to the first rear-engine win when Jimmy Clark drove a Lotus-Ford to victory in 1965. Within a few years, the roadsters were little more than relics, as advances in tires, engines, aerodynamics, and race car engineering left them in the dust. It was the wildest decade ever for America's biggest race. Book jacket.

Indianapolis Monthly is the Circle City’s essential chronicle and guide, an indispensable authority on what’s new and what’s news. Through coverage of politics, crime, dining, style, business, sports, and arts and entertainment, each issue offers compelling narrative stories and lively, urbane coverage of Indy’s cultural landscape.

Dedicated to the Sailors and Marines who lost their lives on the final voyage of USS Indianapolis and to those who survived the torment at sea following its sinking. plus the crews that risked their lives in rescue ships. The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a decorated World War II warship that is primarily remembered for her worst 15 minutes. . This ship earned ten (10) battle stars for her service in World War II and was credited for shooting down nine (9) enemy planes. However, this fame was overshadowed by the first 15 minutes July 30, 1945, when she was struck by two (2) torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58 and sent to the bottom of the Philippine Sea. The sinking of Indianapolis and the loss of 880 crew out of 1,196 --most deaths occurring in the 4-5 day wait for a rescue delayed --is a tragedy in U.S. naval history. This historical reference showcases primary source documents to tell the story of Indianapolis, the history of this tragedy from the U.S. Navy perspective. It recounts the sinking, rescue efforts, follow-up investigations, aftermath and continuing communications efforts. Included are deck logs to better understand the ship location when she sunk and testimony of survivors and participants. For additional historical publications produced by the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, please check out these resources here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/naval-history-heritage-command Year 2016 marked the 71st anniversary of the sinking and another spike in public attention on the loss -- including a big screen adaptation of the story, talk of future films, documentaries, and planned expeditions to locate the wreckage of the warship.

Indianapolis has been home to eight professional hockey teams in four different leagues off and on since 1939. In that span, seven championship cups (1942, '50, '58, '82, '83, '90, and 2000) were claimed by the Circle City, and dozens of Indianapolis icemen went on to win the coveted Stanley Cup in the NHL. And it was at Indy's Market Square Arena that the legendary Wayne Gretzky--the "Great One"--began his professional career, skating for eight games with the Indianapolis Racers in 1978 before joining fellow ex-Racer Mark Messier to dominate the NHL in Edmonton. Indianapolis Hockey tells the story of the teams and players who have created such a rich hockey history in the state capital, from the earliest Capitals teams of mid-century through the Indianapolis Ice of today.

A fun- and fact-filled investigation into why the Sunshine State is the weirdest but also the most influential state in the Union.

Shows and describes race cars built by Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, BMW, Jaguar, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Austin-Healey, Corvette, Mustang, Lotus, Porsche, and Maserati

A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.