Motorsports Mavericks: Daring Drivers, Brilliant Designers, and Milestone Events That Reshaped Motor Racing
About this ebook
In the 1960s and ’70s, every form of racing demanded courage in the face of disproportionate risk. In Motorsports Mavericks, award-winning author and racing historian George Levy brings us the rise and fall of this “Golden Age” of motorsports through the insights and analysis of the participants themselves—putting us in the same room with history’s greatest racing legends. Pete Biro’s spectacular photography, much of it unpublished or long unseen, conveys the speed, danger, and glory in vivid detail.
It was a time of:
- Extremes – Top speeds spiked, risk soared, and racing's popularity exploded.
- Legends – AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, Don Garlits, Richard Petty, Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Derek Bell, and more became household names piloting all manner of race cars in series including Formula 1, NASCAR, drag racing, Indy 500, and sports prototypes.
- Innovation – Bold experimentation prevailed, led by designers, engineers, and team owners like Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman, Jim Hall, and Robin Herd. Racers were as much test pilots as competitors.
It was a window in time that would open and just as certainly close. Racing will never be—can never be—like that again.
Featuring a foreword by auto racing icon Roger Penske, Motorsports Mavericks is an insightful, wistful, occasionally humorous look at that golden-and-simultaneously-fraught age when all race drivers courted danger with little in the way of a safety net. Whether you’re an F1 enthusiast, a NASCAR fan, or just love motorsport, this book offers an exhilarating ride.
About the author
Pete Biro is a photographer who began shooting motorsports in the 1950s, contributing to magazines such as Road & Track and Car and Driver. As his career progressed, his work found greater fame on the pages of outlets such as Time, LIFE, and Sports Illustrated, eventually garnering high-profile clients like the Big Three US automakers and Goodyear Tire. He followed the Can-Am series throughout its 1966 to 1974 glory years, becoming good friends with its top drivers, team owners, and engineers.
Roger Penske is unsurpassed in the history of motorsports for the length and breadth of his involvement, and the sheer volume of his success. Team Penske has won in every category in which it has competed, including multiple championships in NASCAR, IndyCar, Can-Am, Trans-Am, IMSA, and ALMS. “The Captain” has guided his team to an unprecedented 20 Indianapolis 500 victories and nearly as many IndyCar titles. Over that span, he has employed a Who’s Who of drivers and aligned with some of the biggest manufacturers. He is still actively pursuing victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
