{"id":490704,"date":"2009-06-01T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2009-06-01T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=46994"},"modified":"2024-01-04T22:04:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T22:04:35","slug":"product-reviews-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/","title":{"rendered":"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 2009<\/h1>\n

FREIK\u2014the Private Life of the Freikaiserwagen<\/h3>\n

By Rob and Hugh Dunsterville<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Freik was most definitely not a freak. Freik was a perfect example of that peculiarly British fashion of building racing cars out of any bits and pieces that happened to be available at the time of construction. The term \u201cbitza\u201d\u2014bits of this, bits of that\u2014derives from this period.<\/p>\n

This is a paper-backed book telling the detailed tale of one car\u2019s life, the Freikaiserwagen. Because the car was rear-engined and built at the time of the rise of the Auto Unions in GP racing, it is considered that its name is a Teutonically fashioned mixture of Joe Fry, its designer and constructor, Dick Caesar, who supplied many of the ideas, and \u201cwagen\u201d because it sounded German.<\/p>\n

Now it may seem an unlikely way to go about building a winning racing car but, in the case of many budding engineers from the 1920s onward, this car epitomizes the style of UK motor-racing free-thinking and some of the results were outstanding. The most common type of British motor sport event during the 20 years prewar and, indeed, the 10 years postwar, consisted of short hillclimbs and straight-line sprints, as the only circuits available were Brooklands and, for a short period, Donington, until the conflict removed those two latter options.<\/p>\n

So the special-builder had a basic specification in mind before he started; a high power-to-weight ratio achieved through the utilization of highly developed motors mounted in the lightest and skimpiest of frames. Rather like four-wheeled motorcycles.<\/p>\n

Freik tells the full story of one of the most successful of these, so it is required reading for anyone who is inquisitive about the development of UK motor sport and an insight perhaps into why Eric Broadleys, Colin Chapmans, and Adrian Neweys are so prolific in the UK.<\/p>\n

Available for \u00a315.00<\/b> through the Midland Automobile Club www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed by Peter Collins \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the Mind\u2019s Eye<\/h3>\n

by Kevin Hodgkinson\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This softback, landscape-format, 117-pager has more useful information for the motor sport historian and potential single-seater purchaser than many books four times the size and price.<\/p>\n

The fact that it is devoted only to Chevrons doesn\u2019t actually matter, because if you are reading Vintage Racecar you must also be interested in the truth behind all the world\u2019s vintage racecars, and this book supplies it in spades. In fact, it is definitive on these attractive Lancastrian racers.<\/p>\n

The author has based this fascinating volume on the notes he made in period when he was employed by Chevron constructing their single-seaters. He covers the period from the beginning in 1967 with the B7\u2014inspired by the idea of a scaled-down F1 Eagle\u2014up to 1970 and every single-seater to emerge, and even some that didn\u2019t during that period are detailed. So there should never be any argument about any of these cars\u2019 histories again. In microcosm this is \u201cTime and One Seat,\u201d and it is hoped a second volume on subsequent years will be written.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that the late Derek Bennett\u2019s business was uniquely British, there is much of interest to U.S. and Canadian readers, for instance, as these were two markets that Chevron was keen to crack with a variety of Formula B and C cars. Mike Eyerley, where are you now?<\/p>\n

The book is profusely illustrated and the research has produced such rarities as a photo of ex-Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo competition manager Giorgio Pianta in a Jolly Club B9 F3 car at Brands Hatch in 1969, as well as Peter Broeker\u2019s FB car at St Jovite in 1970, among many others. It is self-published by the author Kevin Hodgkinson and available directly from www.ebygumproductions.com<\/a> for \u00a321.95<\/b> plus delivery.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Peter Collins<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing<\/h3>\n

By Ralph Kramer<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The story is a familiar one told many times before, with names and faces readily recognizable, but this time the memories encompass a full 100 years in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Because the tale is so well known, author Kramer acknowledges that this is primarily a picture book, yet the text accompanying the illuminating images from the Speedway\u2019s extensive archive does provide an essential refresher course for anyone who might have missed any of the heroic deeds from the past century. Especially interesting is the look at who the founders of the enterprise were as well as the circumstances that drew them to the project.<\/p>\n

Throughout its history, the Indianapolis 500 has served as both a bastion of tradition and a cauldron of change, although the roles seem somewhat reversed in the modern day. Those evolving realities are the heart and soul of this book, and even though your library may already house several volumes dedicated to Indy 500 history, this centennial summary would make a fine addition.<\/p>\n

Available for a quite reasonable $30<\/b> directly from the publisher, Krause Publications, at (800) 258-0929 or visit www.krausebooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed by John Zimmermann<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 2009 FREIK\u2014the Private Life of the Freikaiserwagen By Rob and Hugh Dunsterville Freik was most definitely not a freak. Freik was a perfect example of that peculiarly British fashion of building racing cars out of any bits and pieces that happened to be available at the time of construction. The term \u201cbitza\u201d\u2014bits of this, bits of that\u2014derives from this period. This is a paper-backed book telling the detailed tale of one car\u2019s life, the Freikaiserwagen. Because the car was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":769188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,11339],"tags":[2942,17152,17940,3297],"class_list":["post-490704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-culture","category-product","tag-car-books","tag-car-culture","tag-product-reviews","tag-products"],"yoast_head":"\n[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 2009 FREIK\u2014the Private Life of the Freikaiserwagen By Rob and Hugh Dunsterville Freik was most definitely not a freak. Freik was a perfect example of that peculiarly British fashion of building racing cars out of any bits and pieces that happened to be available at the time of construction. The term \u201cbitza\u201d\u2014bits of this, bits of that\u2014derives from this period. This is a paper-backed book telling the detailed tale of one car\u2019s life, the Freikaiserwagen. Because the car was […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Supercars.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Supercars.net\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1002\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Zimmermann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@supercars_net\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@supercars_net\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Zimmermann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Zimmermann\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35\"},\"headline\":\"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":835,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/PR200906-p3.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Books\",\"Car Culture\",\"Product Reviews\",\"Products\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Car Culture\",\"Products\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/\",\"name\":\"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/PR200906-p3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/product-reviews-35\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/PR200906-p3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/PR200906-p3.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1002},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Supercars.net\",\"description\":\"Exotic and Supercar news, information, pictures and videos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35\",\"name\":\"John Zimmermann\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"John Zimmermann\"},\"description\":\"John Zimmermann was exposed to racing at birth. His father worked for famed race car builder Kurtis Kraft, and later as a mechanic at Indianapolis and on the Championship Trail for drivers such as Rex Mays, Ted Horn, and Troy Ruttman. John has written about racing for more than 25 years, first at RACECAR before helping found both On Track and RACER, overseeing the latter for a dozen years. He was also motorsports editor at AutoWeek and editor of SportsCar, and his book The Atlantic Championship celebrates the first 25 years of Formula Atlantic. His freelance work has appeared in Road & Track, Motor Sport, Autosport, and Vintage Motorsport, among others.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.supercars.net\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/john_zimmermann-2\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/","next":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing","og_description":"June 2009 FREIK\u2014the Private Life of the Freikaiserwagen By Rob and Hugh Dunsterville Freik was most definitely not a freak. Freik was a perfect example of that peculiarly British fashion of building racing cars out of any bits and pieces that happened to be available at the time of construction. The term \u201cbitza\u201d\u2014bits of this, bits of that\u2014derives from this period. This is a paper-backed book telling the detailed tale of one car\u2019s life, the Freikaiserwagen. Because the car was […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/","og_site_name":"Supercars.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Supercars.net\/","article_published_time":"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1002,"url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Zimmermann","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@supercars_net","twitter_site":"@supercars_net","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Zimmermann","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/"},"author":{"name":"John Zimmermann","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35"},"headline":"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing","datePublished":"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/"},"wordCount":835,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg","keywords":["Books","Car Culture","Product Reviews","Products"],"articleSection":["Car Culture","Products"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/","name":"[Book Review] Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg","datePublished":"2009-06-01T12:00:20+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-04T22:04:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/product-reviews-35\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/PR200906-p3.jpg","width":1080,"height":1002},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/","name":"Supercars.net","description":"Exotic and Supercar news, information, pictures and videos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/96b206a07dacd5614967544b2c3b0e35","name":"John Zimmermann","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/DNFD62DX0AA8wcD-293x293.jpeg","caption":"John Zimmermann"},"description":"John Zimmermann was exposed to racing at birth. His father worked for famed race car builder Kurtis Kraft, and later as a mechanic at Indianapolis and on the Championship Trail for drivers such as Rex Mays, Ted Horn, and Troy Ruttman. John has written about racing for more than 25 years, first at RACECAR before helping found both On Track and RACER, overseeing the latter for a dozen years. He was also motorsports editor at AutoWeek and editor of SportsCar, and his book The Atlantic Championship celebrates the first 25 years of Formula Atlantic. His freelance work has appeared in Road & Track, Motor Sport, Autosport, and Vintage Motorsport, among others.","url":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/author\/john_zimmermann-2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}