Road America
By Steve Zautke
There’s an old adage that says the victors get to write the history, and so it seems that, even though no “victor” has been officially crowned in the battle for supremacy in American auto racing, NASCAR is taking on that task. Of course, no organization can be faulted for promoting its own cause, but the feeling that history not written by that organization is being usurped to further its cause is not a good one.
This book about Road America is from local-history specialist Arcadia Publishing, part of its NASCAR Library Collection, which brands and merchandises some American road racing circuits as essentially NASCAR tracks. While it’s always good to see such history books, the attempt to sell something as something it isn’t just doesn’t seem quite kosher.
All that aside, this little 127-page tome provides a glimpse of all that has transpired at Road America since it opened in 1955, but to have a third of its 127 pages devoted to six races over those 60 seasons doesn’t seem quite right (see above). What is actually there chronicles the growth and development of the circuit often called America’s National Park of Speed, using mainly photographs with story captions to tell the track’s tale by touching on the highpoints of that history.
Available for US$21.99 from enthusiast bookstores or direct from Arcadia at www.arcadiapublishing.com
