val Track Racing Books - Motorsports Art

Home

Book Store

Gift Certificates

Shipping

About Us

Tearoffs

Links

Contact Us

LYNN PAXTON:
My Way

STILL RACING!

LAZZARO: The Man
and His Machines

THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler’s Ole Blue

Just Call Me Rags:
Rags Carter’s
Racing Life

The Newport Nightmare:
Living the Dream

THE FIFTY GREATEST
DRIVERS OF
STAFFORD MOTOR
SPEEDWAY


Knockin' Doorz Down:
A Story of Breaking

Through the Darkness
and Finding Redemption

5-10-32: McBride -
Parker - Anvelink

LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES & FACES

Duct Tape & Glory:
My Semi-Professional Career in Semi-Professional Auto Racing

The Brown Bullet:
Rajo Jack's Drive to
Integrate Auto Racing

RACING IN THE 906

67 - TRICKLE AND REFFNER

The Number 43:
The Life and Legacy of
Wild Bill Greco

HOT SHOE!
A Checkered Past:
My Story

A History of Auto Racing
in New England

On Top of the World:
The Life and Times of a Racing Pioneer

MODIFIED STOCK CAR RACING OF THE
'60S & '70S

BUGSY!
The Life and Times of Bugs Stevens, three-time NASCAR
National Modified Champion

STEADY EDDIE!

RICHIE!
The Fast Life and
Times of NASCAR's
Greatest Modified Driver

THE OLD MASTER:
the Frankie Schneider Story

small yellow on blue.gif (1787 bytes)

.



S-1769
 Price: $59.00


Add to Shopping Cart

LYNN PAXTON: My Way

by Don Robinson

Lynn Paxton has lived and loved the life of an auto racer. Possessed of a wicked sense humor and fun-loving personality, he is an amazing storyteller and racing historian.

After a successful career, winning over 245 feature races in late models, Midgets and Sprint Cars, he stopped racing in 1983 and became the driving force behind the creation of one of the finest automotive museums in the world - the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.

Drawn from personal interviews and family scrapbooks, many of Paxton’s stories and numerous quotes are shared here, brought to life through 200 color photos. Paxton shares his views on racing and other racers, all told with this signature wit.

Hard cover, 282 pages




S-1745
 Price: $29.95


Add to Shopping Cart


READ A REVIEW
STILL RACING!

by Ken Schrader with Joyce Standridge


Ken Schrader is still winning races 52 years into his driving career. Nearly two decades after the release of his popular first book, the NASCAR and short-track icon shares many new tales of his exploits through 48 states and Canada.

Racing’s finest and funniest ambassador takes readers along on and off the track as only he can.

Soft cover, 276 pages, 275 color
and B&W photos.








S
-1746
 Price: $29.95

Add to Shopping Cart


READ A REVIEW

LAZZARO: The Man and His Machines

by Ron Moshier

Winning wasn’t all Lou Lazzaro did. It was how he managed to keep winning - on dirt and pavement - that made him one of the Northeast's most revered and respected stock car drivers of all time.

Seen by some as an underdog because his home-grown race cars rarely looked like the pick of the litter, “That there Louie” did it his way. Racing against time and money, he kept his legion fans shaking their heads in disbelief, as he rebounded from financial woes and serious illness to win again and again.

With “The Monk” and “The Incomparable Lou Lazzaro” and finally, “The Legend” at the wheel,
“LAZZARO: The Man and His Machines” takes you on a revealing, roller-coaster ride down memory lane that shows how his winning ways worked, and why he will never be forgotten.

Soft cover, 180 pp., 160 color/B&W photos.



S-1660
Price: $29.95

Add to Shopping Cart



READ A REVIEW

THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED:
Lenny Boehler’s Ole Blue


by Lew Boyd

Operating out of an old farm near Cape Cod, Lenny Boehler, an understated personality with overstated aptitude and a twinkle in his eye, seemed to communicate with his race car as effectively as with people. And curiously, "Ole Blue" seemed to respond. Together they motored a million miles on a treacherous road, compiling hundreds of victories at speedways up and down the East Coast over four decades. And, though surviving on massively less resource than their competition, they consistently returned with championship laurels.

When Lenny died, he never left. His presence still envelopes the garage and chicken coop where Ole Blue has been housed for the last 65 seasons. Now a senior citizen itself, Ole Blue, still run by Lenny’s family and crew, is one of the most enduring and beloved sights in all of motorsports. 

Soft cover, 216 pages, 200 B&W and color photos.



S-1550
Price: $16.00

JUST REPRINTED!

Add to Shopping Cart
Just Call Me Rags:
Rags Carter’s Racing Life

by Alan Carter Jr.

Alan “Rags” Carter was a standout dirt-track driver who raced up and down the East Coast from the late 1940s into the ’80s. Originally from the Miami, Florida, area, he came north to race at the famed dirt tracks in central Pennsylvania and beyond – Reading, Nazareth, Kutztown, Middletown. He won consistently for car owners like Dick Meals, Tony Ferraiulo, Ray Everett, and most famously for Harold Cope in the #1 coupes and sedans.

Carter is credited with 45 Modified wins at the Nazareth half-mile, where he won the Modified championship in 1965 and ’66; 33 features at Middletown; 6 at Reading; and at least 100 across Florida. Among other honors, he was inducted into the DIRT and EMPA Halls of Fame.

Rags’s son, Alan Jr., has compiled a loving memoir of traveling with his dad, constantly on the road, as with so many racing families in those days, sharing the joys and disappointments of a hardscrabble life they wouldn’t have traded for any trophy.

Soft cover, 96 pages, 67 B&W photos.




S-1741
Price: $29.95


Add to Shopping Cart

The Newport Nightmare:
Living the Dream

by Jimmy Owens
with Dave Argabright

Jimmy Owens rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most accomplished and respected racing drivers of his generation. After a stellar tenure in open-wheel Modified competition, Owens embarked on a sensational career in dirt late model racing and ultimately became a four-time national champion. This is the inside story of a great racer, and an intimate glimpse of his triumphs and tears.

In his memoir, Owens pulls back the curtain to share the highs and lows of his eventful career, providing readers with a rare behind-the-scenes look at a racing life and beyond. Along the way you'll experience the events and places that led Owens to become one of the most beloved racers in dirt late model competition.

This is a story of living the dream. And more. 

Hard cover, 280 pages, 116 color & B&W photos.



S-1724
Price: $17.95


Add to Shopping Cart

THE FIFTY GREATEST DRIVERS OF
STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY 
 

by Phil Smith

From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, by the 1980s Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the Northeast.

 

The Arute family, which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility for the past 50-plus years, commissioned their 1000s of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers.

 

The result is this book of photos and biographies of the “Fifty Greatest Drivers,” listed in alphabetical order from Tommy Baldwin to Satch Worley, and compiled by motorsports journalist Phil Smith.  

 

Soft cover, 166 pages.










S-1708
Price: $15.95


Add to Shopping Cart

Knockin' Doorz Down:
A Story of Breaking Through the
Darkness and Finding Redemption

by Carlos Vieira 

The inspirational story of one man’s heroic struggle against inner demons that nearly destroy him, though he ultimately recovers and finds a unique pathway to redemption and inner peace. In this cautionary tale, we see how the isolation of addiction affects every aspect of Vieira’s existence.

Here are the binges, the excesses, the relapses, the rehabs, the nights in jail, and the multiple resolutions to recover. At age thirty-four, he finally stops, once and for all.

In addition to helping to operate the largest producer of organic and conventional sweet potatoes in the U.S., Vieira is a competitive race car driver and the owner of the number 51 car, competing in various race series throughout the West Coast. 

Soft cover, 200 pp. 

 

 



S-1707
Price: $24.95


Add to Shopping Cart

5-10-32: McBride - Parker - Anvelink

by Joe Verdegan

Author Joe Verdegan tells the stories of three of the best wheelmen to emerge from the northeastern Wisconsin dirt-track scene. M.J. McBride. Pete Parker. Terry Anvelink. A trio of late model drivers with three distinct personalities.

These three dominated action at Shawano Speedway from 1980-2000, winning all but two track titles. The three scooped up hundreds of feature wins and multiple track championships along the way.

 Verdegan interviews nearly 100 drivers and former car owners who raced against these three legends - and even beat them on occasion.

S-1707 Soft cover, 160 pp.

 

 

 

 

 



S-1696
Price: $39.95


Add to Shopping Cart


READ A REVIEW

LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES & FACES

Photos from the Lens of
Lenny H. Sammons

A Racing Pictorial covering the 1970s and ’80s, largely in PA, NJ and NY, featuring over 500 popular drivers, memorable races, closes finishes and much more. 

Compiled from the personal photo library of
Area Auto Racing News Editor and Publisher Lenny H. Sammons from his time on the road as racing photographer.

Soft cover, 252 pp, 1000+ B/W photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



S-1659
Price: $19.95

Add to Shopping Cart



READ A REVIEW

Duct Tape & Glory: My Semi-Professional Career in Semi-Professional Auto Racing

by Scotty Orme

With no family ties to racing, mechanical knowledge, or idea of where to start, southern Indiana dreamer Scotty Orme set out on a quest to become a professional racecar driver.

Duct Tape & Glory is not the story of a Hall of Fame superstar. It’s the story of the other 99%. The kid that chases the dream and learns along the way that sometimes the finish is less important than the effort, the destination is less important than the journey, and the person you expected to be is less important than the one you’ve become.


Soft cover, color photos, 284 pages.












S-1655
Price: $28.95

Add to Shopping Cart

The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack's Drive
to Integrate Auto Racing

by Bill Poehler

The powers-that-be in 1920s auto racing, namely the American Automobile Association's Contest Board, barred everyone who wasn't a white male from the sport. But Dewey Gatson, a black man who went by the name Rajo Jack, drove into the center of "outlaw" auto racing in California, refusing to let the pervasive racism of his day stop him from competing against entire fields of white drivers.

In
The Brown Bullet, journalist Bill Poehler uncovers the life of a long-forgotten trailblazer and the great lengths he took to even get on the track, showing ultimately how Rajo Jack proved to a generation that a black man could compete with some of the greatest white drivers of his era, winning some of the biggest races of the day. 

Hard cover, 240 pages.








S-1648
Price: $19.95

Add to Shopping Cart

RACING IN THE 906

By Joe Verdegan

Racing In The 906 covers the colorful history of stock car racing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Area Code 906), and the Soo region of southern Canada.

The book covers all the action dating from the 1950s to the modern day and profiles many popular drivers who battled at tracks in Escanaba, Norway, Marquette and Kinross in the Soo region near the Canadian border.

The book is dedicated to the late Bob Iverson, who passed away in 2018. Iverson, along with Menominee’s Gene Coleman are two “yoopers” inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame. Iverson dominated racing during both the winged Modified and Late Model eras, while Coleman’s mark in racing has been made nationwide through his innovative racing parts business Coleman Machine.

Both the Iverson and Coleman racing families are covered extensively along with Mike and Kris Kelly, Mike Mattson, Allen Yelle and Bark River native Greg Ives, who packed his bags and left the comfortable family business to move to Charlotte to work as a crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports at NASCAR’s highest level.

For many years there were spirited rivalries with the Canadian and American drivers. Canadian standouts Hubie Brazeau and Mike Uhlman are just two of many drivers who are featured in
Racing in the 906. More than 200 drivers (past and present) were interviewed for the book, along with track promoters who discussed in-depth their highs and lows in the sometimes crazy, and always challenging business of weekly short track racing.

Soft cover, 211 pages, 32 color & 27 B&W photos. 



S-1618
Price: $32.00

Add to Shopping Cart
67 - TRICKLE AND REFFNER

by Fr. Dale Grubba


Details the years 1972 and 1975, when Wisconsin short-track legends Dick Trickle and Tom Reffner each won 67 features. It is the story of three young men from Rudolph, WI, how they got their start, and the years leading up to the record-setting events.

Interspersed are profiles of the drivers who actually beat Trickle in 1972. Marv Marzofka led the way with 14 victories. Others included Reffner, Jimmy Back, Joe Shear, Larry Detjens, Lyle Nabbefeldt, and Johnny Ziegler.

Long-awaited and a must for Wisconsin racing fans.

Soft cover, 490 pp., including more than 200 color and B&W photos.








S-1601
Price: $18.00

Add to Shopping Cart

The Number 43: The Life and Legacy
of Wild Bill Greco

by Sarah Greco

The Number 43 chronicles the triumphs and trials of Wild Bill Greco, a legendary Northeastern short-track stock car driver.

His success on the racetrack reveals much about his determination, drive, and desire to achieve success, but a look at the man behind the helmet and fire suit exposes a paradoxical figure who inspires and infuriates, embraces and battles, and ultimately, who steals the heart of all who truly get to know him.

Be prepared to have your heart stolen, too!

Soft cover, 140 pages, 55 color and B&W photos.
 

 

 



S-1587
Price: $29.95

Add to Shopping Cart

HOT SHOE! A Checkered Past: My Story

by Gary Balough with Bones Bourcier

Gary Balough streaked across the racing sky like a comet, hot and fiery, blazing through several categories of motorsports. He won in everything he drove – Late Models, Modifieds, superspeedway Late Model Sportsman cars, you name it – and stood in victory lanes from Florida to New York, Pennsylvania to Texas, and at historic venues like the Nashville Fairgrounds and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But when that comet flamed out, Balough’s world went notoriously dark. Now, he sheds some light. Brash, bold, and honest, “HOT SHOE” is Gary’s story, told in his own words. Balough the author is as aggressive as Balough the racer, charging hard and never shy. It’s a gripping ride.

Soft cover, 272 pages, 144 B&W and color photos.

Read a Review



S-1405
Price: $34.95
Special: $24.95

Add to Shopping Cart
A History of Auto Racing in New England

- A Project of the North East
Motor Sports Museum



There has never been a book like this one, a carefully researched and written biography of automobile racing in New England.

A History of Auto Racing in New England celebrates the colorful past of racing cars in the six states on road courses, up mountains, along the ocean’s beaches, around dirt and paved ovals, and down strips of concrete and asphalt.

More than the cars, we have focused on the people who drove them and those who created the stages on which the drivers exhibited their courage and their skill. The early races that make up much of the book were profoundly dangerous; participation required abnormal courage. As we celebrate the winners, we mourn with the families and friends of those who paid racing’s ultimate price.

A few have become wealthy beyond their wildest dreams through New England racing. The majority have participated for the love of going fast, the joy of turning wrenches while looking for more speed or better handling or to hear the cheers of the crowd following a winning Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

Go inside this book’s covers to discover how racing in New England has made so many lives more thrilling and fulfilling – and in ways that could never happen again.

Proceeds benefit NEMSM.

Hard cover, 400+ B&W photos, 304 pages.



S-1400
Original Price: $29.95
Now: $16.95

Add to Shopping Cart
On Top of the World: The Life and Times
of a Racing Pioneer

by Larry Moore with Dave Argabright

Across four decades Larry Moore was synonymous with winning, innovation, and a larger-than-life personality. In this groundbreaking book Larry opens up to share the story of his fascinating life and career, and how the booming sport of dirt late model racing began. Larry reaches deep inside himself to reveal a complex man who rose to stardom in a complex sport. This isn't just fun and games; Larry describes the lowest lows right along with the soaring highs.

It would be difficult to find anyone in racing who has had a career quite like Larry Moore. On the dirt he was phenomenal, the first repeat winner of the World 100 and the first to win it three times. Today he is regarded as one of the greatest dirt drivers in history. Yet he was also an accomplished pavement racer, winning against the best in ARCA, ASA, and USAC. He also proved his mettle in USAC sprint car competition. Few racers have followed such a diverse path, and even fewer were as successful. Readers will also find themselves mesmerized by the story of one of the greatest personalities in the history of short track racing.

This is one of the most entertaining books Dave Argabright has produced. Hilarious, tragic, outrageous, colorful, revealing...this is the story of a man who has truly stood...On Top Of The World.

Hard cover, 336 pages, 32 pages of color and b/w photos.




S-1237
Price: $29.95

Add to Shopping Cart
MODIFIED STOCK CAR RACING OF THE '60S
& '70S:
An Illustrated History Featuring the Drivers, Cars, and Tracks of the Northeastern U.S.

by Steve Kennedy


This is the first illustrated history of the Northeast's favorite division – the modifieds. The author covers the region's best-loved drivers and their cars, including Richie Evans in his “Big Orange” No. 61; Geoff Bodine and his No. 99 Valiant; Jean Guy Chartrand and his Hemi-Cuda; Carl “Bugsy” Stevens in Sonny Koszela's No. 15 “Woodchopper Special;” Connecticut short track specialists Dave Alkas in the Roland Cyr Coach No. 54; Tony Membrino in Walt Kuryn's famous No. 00; New Hampshire's Punky Caron and his No. 121 Coupe; Don LaJoie and the No. 711; “Dynamite” Ollie Silva and his radically offset Gremlin; and others!

Many lesser-known drivers and their machines are covered as well, on the tracks of Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson Speedway, Waterford Speedbowl, Danbury Racearena, Seekonk Speedway, Riverside Park Speedway, Westboro Speedway, Plainville Stadium, Monadnock Speedway, Islip Speedway, Trenton Fairgrounds and many other Northeast speedways including a few of the dirt tracks like Reading Fairgrounds and the Nazareth Speedway.

An absolute must for anyone who followed theNortheast’s wheelmen in the glory days.

Soft cover, 128 pages, 350 B&W and color photos.

S-179
Price: $19.95

BUGSY! — The Life and Times
of Bugs Stevens, three-time NASCAR
National Modified Champion



By Bones Bourcier

Modified fans everywhere know the legendary name Bugsy Stevens, and his amazing story has at last been told. Whether tooling around the tiny bull rings in Texas while in the service, or driving the famous NASCAR ovals nearer his Massachusetts home, or competing on the high banks of Daytona International, Bugsy Stevens did it all with the skill of a seasoned professional and the merriment of a Saturday night beer hall.

Stevens’ perspective is profound and touching, as he deals deeply with issues such as racing ethics, driving styles, track types, and even the deaths of so many of his buddies. Told to his friend Bones Bourcier, an internationally acclaimed motorsports journalist.

232 pages, over 150 photos

S-2X
Price: $19.95

STEADY EDDIE!
Memories of Ed Flemke
Modified Racing’s Fastest Professor

Edited & annotated by
Bones Bourcier

Rivals, teammates, friends, and family members recall one of America’s most influential short-trackers, a man who won hundreds of features in modified racing’s glory days.

Contributors include NASCAR Cup winners Pete Hamilton and Ron Bouchard, legendary team owner Junie Donlavey, modified icons Gene Bergin and Bob Judkins, broadcaster/promoter Jack Arute, and many more!

Bones Bourcier is the author of acclaimed biographies on Tony Stewart, Richie Evans, and Bugsy Stevens; Steady Eddie promises to be another classic!

Soft cover, black and white photos,
256 pages

Read a Review

S-61
Price: $29.95

RICHIE!
The Fast Life and Times of NASCAR's
Greatest Modified Driver




By Bones Bourcier

From farm boy to nine-time NASCAR National Champion, Richie Evans raced through life in the fast lane. Motorsports biographer Bones Bourcier was along for much of the ride as a reporter, observer and friend, and now he tells the complete and unabridged story of the man voted “NASCAR's greatest modified driver.”

Weaving together over 300 photographs and excerpts from hundreds of hours of interviews with competitors, crew members, friends and family members, “RICHIE!” takes us on a virtual journey back to the time when modifieds ruled and Evans was King. This is the perfect gift for racing fans of all ages.

Soft cover, over 350 pages

Read a Review

S-726
Price: $29.95

THE OLD MASTER:
the Frankie Schneider Story


with Dennis Keenan

Dennis Keenan has done an extraordinary job in recapturing the long and colorful racing life of Frankie Schneider, the East Coast’s undisputed King of the Modifieds.

The story starts at Flemington, NJ in 1947 in a battered ’37 Ford coach with numbers drawn in lipstick. It weaves year by year to the present, including Grand National, convertible, open wheel, and road racing adventures, all over the country.

It ends up with Frankie’s surprise 80th birthday. It becomes crystal clear to the reader that, regardless what happens to racing in the future, there will never be another Frankie Schneider.

Revised edition, March 2016! Soft cover, 235+ black and white photos, 222 pages.