Unser Racing Museum & Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed Announce Merger

The Unser Racing Museum and the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed announced their plans for a merger.

 

“The Unser family is one of the most storied families in automotive and racing history,” said Carson Smith, Director, Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed. “We’ve had racing partnerships with members of the Unser family for over 38 years and are honored to welcome the Unser collection to our museum.”

 

Unser Racing Museum

 

Located in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, N.M., the Unser Racing Museum was founded in 2003 by Al and Susan Unser and has operated these past 18 years as a public, non-profit, 501(c)3. Designed as a multi-dimensional museum experience utilizing modern technologies to educate and immerse the visitor in the exciting world of racing, the museum showcases Unser racing history and spans the early days of racing from Pikes Peak (Unser Mountain) and Indianapolis to the latest technology, with interactive kiosks for young and old to learn more about racing in a fun, educational environment. Displaying over 40 race, pace and Pikes Peak cars, original racing art, trophies and memorabilia the Museum was created to honor the legendary history of one family in American motorsports.

 

Johnny Lightning Special driven by Al Unser

 

The Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed is currently home to the Johnny Lightning Special and Viceroy VPJ Special driven by Al Unser, the 1971 Gurney Eagle driven by Bobby Unser, along with other vehicles and engines significant to Unser racing history. Recently named the #1 Attraction for Car Lovers in USA Today’s 10 Best Reader’s Choice awards, the museum, located in Lincoln, Neb., is home to over 240,000 square feet of display space over three levels, presenting a continuous chronology of automotive racing engines and speed equipment development.

 

1971 Gurney Eagle driven by Bobby Unser

 

“In motorsports, the Unser name is recognized worldwide, and we believe merging with the #1 nationally ranked Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed will provide not only a larger national, but also international, platform for this collection of the Unser’s iconic racing legacy,” said Susan Unser speaking on behalf of the Board of the Unser Racing Museum. “We look forward to collaborating with the Museum of American Speed to create exciting, historical, and educational exhibits to highlight the Unser Collection. From racing up Pikes Peak in 1916, USAC Stock Car, IROC and IndyCar championships, 9 Indianapolis 500 wins and this year a fourth generation racing again up Pikes Peak, the Unser Collection spans four generations and over 100 years of motorsports history.”

 

Museum of American Speed

 

Exciting news! We’re joining forces with the Unser Racing Museum! We’ve had racing partnerships with members of the Unser family for nearly 40 years and we are honored to welcome the Unser collection to our museum. For more info: https://t.co/WH3neDR69a pic.twitter.com/BSKsE2r5j0

— Museum of American Speed (@American_Speed) May 22, 2023

 

source: Speedway Motors Media

"NASCAR 75 Years" The Official & Definitive Story of America’s Favorite Motorsport

By Al Pearce, Mike Hembree, Kelly Crandall, Jimmy Creed ∙ Publishing April 11, 2023

Available April 11, 2023 ∙ Published by Motorbooks

 

What better way to celebrate your favorite sport’s 75th anniversary than to explore it’s history through a thrilling illustrated book packed with reminiscent photography, legendary drivers, and a decade-by-decade history.

 

NASCAR 75 Years assertions to captures the greatest moments throughout the decades: from the beaches of Daytona to the jaw-clenching competition, the mind-bending technology, the triumphs, the teamwork, and the high-speed thrills. Large-format photography from throughout NASCAR history brings it all to life alongside narratives written by a roster of veteran NASCAR reporters and historians.

 

 

Follow NASCAR’s growth from a small, innovative family business to a leader in sports entertainment, witnessed each week by millions in person and on national television. The authors show the evolution of the vehicles—from modified family sedans to 700-horsepower race-built behemoths, all the way through the “Next Gen” cars that debuted in 2022—and celebrate the drivers who have piloted them around tracks like Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Las Vegas, and more —legendary heroes with names including Flock, Weatherly, Petty, Allison, Yarbrough, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Gordon, Stewart, Johnson, Busch, all battling wheel to wheel, week after week, across the United States.

 

 

This beautifully designed and extensively illustrated book provides the ultimate history of the legendary series, celebrating the drivers, crew chiefs, pit crews, owners, and tracks, from the earliest days on Florida’s beaches right through to today’s superspeedways, short tracks, and road courses. Compiled by authors with a passion for motorsport, NASCAR 75 Years is a volume no fan can be without.

 

*Note: NASCAR Race Mom has not read this book yet.

 

The press release officially announcing "NASCAR 75 Years" book is out! Publishing day is April 11. It's 224 pages and 310 photos looking back through decades of NASCAR history.

Available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, https://t.co/0G7M2Lp4FH, Books-A-Millon, and more: pic.twitter.com/q8EFoEORl2

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) February 1, 2023

About the authors

Al Pearce saw his first NASCAR race in 1966 in Daytona Beach and covered his first race in July 1969 at Dover, Delaware for the Times-Herald of Newport News, Virginia. Since then, he’s covered thousands of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, NHRA, and SCCA races for the Tribune Company (1969-2004) and Autoweek (1973-current). Pearce has authored thirteen books on racing, including Unseen Earnhardt: The Man Behind the Mask and Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team (with Tom Cotter). He lives in Newport News, Virginia.

 

Mike Hembree has written about motorsports for four decades and is the author of fourteen books, including 100 Things NASCAR Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He has won numerous awards, including the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence. He also is a seven-time National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and a three-time winner of the Russ Catlin Award for motorsports journalism excellence. Hembree has covered auto racing for Autoweek, USA Today, the Greenville News, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the SPEED Channel, and NASCAR Scene. His news media career also includes coverage of the NFL, the NBA, MLB, the Olympics, and professional golf. Mike lives in Gaffney, South Carolina.

 

Kelly Crandall has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013 and joined RACER.com as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared on NASCAR.com, NBC Sports, and in NASCAR Illustrated magazine. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) and currently serves as the organization’s president. She is also a regular co-host on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Jimmy Creed was born and raised in Talladega, Alabama, and started going to the track there at an early age. As the sports editor of The Anniston Star in nearby Anniston, Alabama, he twice received Alabama Sports Writer Association Story of the Year honors for stories written about the HANS Device and Davey Allison. He is the author of Donnie Allison: As I Recall, the official biography of the famed Alabama Gang member. A 1989 graduate of the University of Alabama in journalism, he also served as the editor of Saints Digest, the official publication of the New Orleans Saints from 1992 to 1996. He currently resides in Talladega.

 

 

 

source: quarto.com

In His Own Words - Bill Lester

Winning in Reverse: Defying Odds and Achieving Dreams

 

 

As America continues to grapple with racism in the world of sports and beyond, Bill Lester, a Black pioneer in NASCAR racing, offers us new insight into his personal journey with Winning in Reverse: Defying Odds and Achieving Dreams – The Bill Lester Story. NASCAR has traditionally been a southern, white man’s sport, but it was knocked off its axis when Bill Lester entered the playing field.

 

Today’s the day! "Winning In Reverse" is now available in #paperback where ever books are sold. It’s also available as an #audiobook. And it’s been turned into the short film, #DefyTheOdds. Big things are happening! #WinningInReverse #LiveYourDream @serendipitylit @pegasus_books pic.twitter.com/ONbQzbfANh

— Bill Lester (@Bill_Lester) February 8, 2022

 

Bill did not grow up in the sport as so many other drivers have. He enjoyed racing as a side hobby while he worked as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard until, at the age of 40, standing on the brink of peril or promise, he quit his job to pursue racing full time. Blessed with a natural talent, Bill still had a trifecta of odds against him: he was Black, he was middle aged, and he was not a southerner.

 

Bill was certainly not the quintessential “good old boy” that NASCAR was used to seeing, and many fans did not hide their contempt. In Winning in Reverse, Bill Lester describes how he was able to rise above it all – as his rankings rose, too – and make history time and again, becoming the first African American to race in NASCAR’s Busch Series, the first to participate in the Nextel Cup, and the first to win a Pole Position start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ever the optimist, Bill’s voice provides new inspiration and guidance about how to overcome adversity.

 

About the Authors

Bill Lester was born in Washington, D.C. attended University of California Berkeley. Before becoming a professional race car driver, he worked Hewlett- Packard. Lester competed in NASCAR and IMSA, two of America’s most prestigious racing series and earned six podium finishes and one victory during his 10 full seasons. Bill has received various awards including “Trailblazer in Motor Sports” and the “Jackie Robinson Award” award from the Rainbow/PUSH organization and the “Sam Lacy Pioneer Award” from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2013. He was a broadcast analyst for Fox Sports South show Around the Track and the NBC Sports show NASCAR America.

 

Recognized for his definitive books and articles on motor racing, Atlanta author Jonathan Ingram has written eight books, including CRASH! part of the library collection at the National Museum of American History, and is the winner of awards from the National Motorsports Press Association and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

 

source: Lester PR

 

I remember racing with Bill Lester for the first time in 1998. Being unfamiliar with the name, I assumed he was a long time journeyman road racer who was looking for a new challenge in stock cars. Turns out his journey was anything but typical. Deciding to become a professional stock car driver in your 40s is next to impossible. In the pages of this book you’ll learn Bill is a determined enthusiastic individual whose passion to succeed made the impossible a reality.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

 

The Tribute to the Can-Am - 50th Anniversary

The Tribute to the Can-Am - 50th Anniversary, a very special event developed by Dave Wolin's non-profit Racing History Project; presented by Rick Cole Auctions Monterey - and Vintage Racecar Magazine,  is set for Saturday night, August 20th

This event, at the beautiful Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row, will feature a gala dinner followed by a slide show presentation of Can-Am history by noted Can-Am author/ photographer Pete Lyons and the introduction of his stunningly-beautiful new "2017 Velocity Can- Am Calendar".

In addition, event goers will be treated to the first ever public showing of film from the '71 Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen Can-Am races, along with a round-table discussion featuring a number of the celebrity guests of the era. There will also be a lively auction of treasured motorsports memorabilia. 

Howden Ganely, Lothar Motschenbacher, and Don Nichols ... all very important parts of the wonderful Can-Am crazy quilt: all very personable, and all great fun to hob-nob with, are all scheduled to attend.