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Drag Racing, Yesterday and Today has survived the test of time because it is a classic. The dust cover jacket is white, black and red and is often lost, torn or destroyed. Losing the dust cover jacket has not decreased the value of the book, but in the future it will. There is a demand for another reprinting and the estate is considering doing just that. The book is maroon colored with an embossed outline of a dragster. The cloth binding is superior and that’s one reason that the copies of Drag Racing, Yesterday and Today have survived for four decades in such good shape. Nearly all the copies that I’ve seen are in very good condition, though few dust cover jackets have survived. Yes, I’m nagging the owner, take care of that dust cover jacket or the value of your copy will not rise as fast in the future as someone who has a well preserved sleeve. Parks evidently looked into the future and guessed, correctly it seems, that readers would welcome a glossary of terms. Many of the terms are still in use today and a few seem quaint and archaic. The index is first class, ten pages and precise. Whoever did the index is a master historian or secretary without equal. The photographs are all in black and white. They are as clear and crisp looking as is possible on non-waxed photographic paper. This is one part of the book that could have been improved upon. The captions are full, to the point and explanatory. The photographs could stand alone, without the text, and yet still tell the story well. Parks wrote the first few chapters and you can see an almost poetical style and zeal. The rest of the book is a collaboration with the co-author and the structure becomes more fact-filled. Perhaps the urge to fill this tiny book with all the knowledge of the new sport of drag racing made it imperative to skimp on the lyrical feelings so evident at the beginning. Regardless, the book only suffers a slight reduction in readability towards the end. By and large, the writing and construction are superior to what we have today.
Drag racing evolved out of dry lakes land speed and illegal street racing. Wally Parks had a burning desire to see order brought forth from chaos. His talent lay in inspiring others to work together for the same goal, to save lives and create a sport that allowed men and women to build and race cars capable of great speed and performance. He wasn’t the only pioneer in this field. There were brilliant men and women who worked to make drag racing a sport that would become respected and loved by millions. Drag Racing, Yesterday and Today tells the story of drag racing from its roots to the acceptance that it achieved by 1966, the year that the book was released. A lot has happened since then to cement drag racing’s place in the pantheon of the world’s automotive sports. Yet this book needs no other additions to explain to the public what inspired drag racing and why it is so important to men and women today. The first two chapters describe the early dry lakes and land speed racing. Many of the men and women, such as Ak Miller, Stu Hilborn, Otto Crocker, Karl and Veda Orr, Lou Baney, Chuck Potvin, Vic Edelbrock, Don Blair and others became well-known and prospered in manufacturing or other types of racing. Chapter three tells about the need to find racing venues closer to the cities in an effort to get young people to give up illegal street racing and race on safe and sanctioned drag strips. Chapter four talks about the Safety Safari, a group of young men sent out by Parks and the fledgling National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) that Parks created to teach car clubs how to put on safe drag races. Bud Coons led a group composed of Eric Rickman, Chick Cannon and Bud Evans from one city to another across America to bring the NHRA’s principles to local car clubs. Chapters five through ten explore the rapid growth and professionalization of drag racing, beyond the wildest dreams of the early founders. Someday a sequel will be written that will bring the public up to date on the events that happened in the four decades after the book was published. Very likely a second edition will be published. If you are fortunate enough to come across an original copy of Drag Racing, Yesterday and Today, buy it and add it to your library.
Gone Racin’ is at RNPARKS1@JUNO.COM.
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