The Tycoons, Scorchers, and Outlaws The Class War that Shaped American Auto Racing

by Messer-Kruse, Timothy

• ISBN13: 9781137322500
• ISBN10: 1137322500
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-11-29
• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot

Summary

Tycoons, Scorchers, and Outlaws charts the class and cultural origins of auto racing in America, arguing for the first time that auto racing was invented by millionaires who viewed the new sport like horse racing, where ownership and patronage counted for more than skill on the track. It reveals how these elites' plans to establish the sport along French lines with grand road rallies that usurped the common right of way were thwarted by a public backlash based largely on class. As these tycoons reluctantly moved racing onto tracks, they lost control to both manufacturers and working class drivers who saw the sport as a commercial opportunity. Soon the elite clubmen's grip on racing slipped away and auto racing emerged as a popular working class sport.

Author Biography

Timothy Messer-Kruse is a professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University, USA, where he also served as professor and chair of the Ethnic Studies Department. He is the author of numerous books including The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists which won the best book prize from the journal Labor History in 2012.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Millionaires' Toys
2. Scorcher Rule
3. Seizing the Open Road
4. Man or Machine?
5. Outlaws