Fuel and Guts The Birth of Top Fuel Drag Racing

by Madigan, Tom; McClelland, Dave

• ISBN13: 9780760326978
• ISBN10: 0760326975
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-15
• Publisher: Motorbooks

Summary

Told by those who lived it, this is the story of how Top Fuel drag racing started, when nitro methane and methanol were first mixed and made cars go from 0 to 100 mph in 0.8 seconds! From the beginning Tom Maddigan was an insider on this scene and has interviewed drivers, promoters, car builders, drag strip owners for the first account of this high-octane, speed wins world where racing cars travelled at speeds of over 330 mph! The interviews are taken straight from Maddigans tape recorder and faithfully transcribed and reproduced here - the real, verbatim feelings, passions, ideas, frustrations, and determination of a now vanished breed of racer. Covering racers like Tony Nancy, Mickey Thopmpson, Tommy Ivo, Tom McEwen, Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, engine builders Ed Pink, chassis builder Kent Fuller, and more all open the door to this world of winners to readers.

Author Biography

Tom Madigan has been part of the California car culture since the beginning. Not only did he compete against drag racing's pioneers, he has also been writing about them since the 1960s as a contributor for Motorcade magazine, a feature editor for Popular Hot Rodding magazine and the author of several books, including Edelbrock: Made in the USA, Boss: The Bill Stroppe Story, and The Loner: the Story of a Drag Racer.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

The fuse is lithellip; How did it all start?

Late 1950s to Early 1960s

Mid 1960s

The California Gang Goes on Tour

Getting Serious about Going Fast

The Late 1960s

The Late 1960s to Early 1970s

The Last Winning One-Man Team

Epilogue

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.