Match Race Mayhem Book ~Drag Racing's Rivalries~Grudges~Showdowns~NHRA~NEW

Description

Match Race Mayhem
Drag Racing's Grudges, Rivalries, and Big-Money Showdowns
by Doug Boyce
Veteran drag race author Doug Boyce tells the tale of the history of match racing through the cars, the drivers, the events, the classes, the rivalries, and everything else that was fun about match racing during the golden era. It's all here, complemented by wonderful vintage photography provided by the fans and professionals in attendance. If you are a fan of any class of drag racing, from any era,
Match Race Mayhem
is a fun addition to your racing library.
~ Big John Mazmanian ~ Stone, Woods & Cook ~ Fast Eddie Schartman ~ Butch "The California Flash" Leal ~ Dyno Don Nicholson ~ Dandy Dick Landy ~ Jungle Jim Liberman ~ Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick ~ TV Tommy Ivo
Drag racing is a very regulated sport. In the history of the NHRA, IHRA, and other sanctioning bodies, many classes existed in an effort to make sure the cars racing against each other are as equal as possible. It is a noble, if not futile, pursuit. You have two cars facing off that have very similar statistics in terms of weight, transmission type, fuel type, estimated horsepower, and all other sorts of measurables. The byproduct is that often the races that were "fair" were not the races that the fans wanted to see.
During the golden age of drag racing, fans didn't care as much about class racing as much as they wanted to see scores settled, rivalries battled, and interesting match-ups. There were the manufacturer rivalries, Ford versus Chevy, Chevy versus Mopar, Mopar versus Ford, as well as numerous driver rivalries. Match races were also a great way to feature wildly popular cars that no longer had a class in which to compete, yet the fans still wanted to see them. So popular and intense were these races that many track promoters didn't bother to promote class racing at all. Instead, they used the match races as headliners, similar to the marquee at your local arena or a billboard in Las Vegas, all resulting in putting more fans in the stands. And the drivers loved it too. Although the prize money for national events was fairly average for the day, the extra appearance fees and prize money to lure the most popular match racers to events increased the driver's take exponentially. Many of the most popular pro drivers quit class racing altogether just to go match racing.
Doug Boyce has had a lifelong addiction to drag racing. He turned his first wrench at age 8 and attended his first race at age 10. The essence of burning rubber and screaming open pipes filled his head and by his early teens, he was elbow deep in building classic Chevys. He continued to fuel the fire while working 9 to 5 in the automotive field. Doug has filled what little spare time he has had writing numerous club and magazine articles related to drag racing's golden years. He has an on going love of drag racing and the way it used to be.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter One: Match Racing USA
Chapter Two: Factory Bashing, 1963–1964
Chapter Three: A Funny Evolution, 1965–1966
Chapter Four: Times Are A-Changin’, 1967–1968
Chapter Five: All Systems A Go-Go, 1969–1970
Chapter Six: Beginning of the End, 1970s
Index
Softcover. 2017. 8 1/2x11. 176 pages. 297 black and white photos.
BRAND NEW
!
PLEASE NOTE:
PHOTO IN THIS AUCTION IS A STOCK PHOTO OF THE BOOK. YOUR BOOK IS BRAND NEW FROM THE PUBLISHER, NEVER READ, NEVER SHELVED.