Al Unser Jr: A Checkered Past

Al Unser Jr: A Checkered Past
Author: Al Unser
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2021-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781642340457

Winning came naturally for Al Unser, Jr. He had a gift for finding the fast line on the track and he possessed a boisterous and lovable personality. Fans and the press adored him. Behind this affable persona, an appetite for drugs and alcohol was destroying his private life. Unser's battle to climb out of that cave is one of the great stories in motorsports. A Checkered Past is an unblinking story of triumph, tragedy, and the road to recovery.

Beast

Beast
Author: Jade Gurss
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2020-03-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9781642340105

Beast was the nickname of a shocking new race engine unveiled for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. The massive effort to design and build it in a seemingly impossible timeframe is still hailed as one of the most herculean efforts and well-kept secrets in the history of the Indy 500. In the award-winning book, Beast, bestselling author Jade Gurss chronicles the subterfuge and debunks the myths about this legendary power plant that persist twenty years on. Gurss interviewed key players involved in the race to uncover the story of how this engine powered the Penske PC23 chassis to one of the most talked-about Indy 500 races in history. The British race-engine experts at Ilmor Engineering offer detail about the design and manufacture of the engine. Roger Penske's team reveals how the engine and car were tested and developed, and how Mercedes came to be involved in the project. The story unfolds as Roger Penske and Mario Illien and Paul Morgan of Ilmor play every card they possess to create an incredible race engine--even rare World War II fighter planes and supersonic jets roar into the heart of this high-tech tale. Drivers Al Unser Jr. of the United States and Paul Tracy of Canada provide details on the tense weeks leading up to race day. The book reaches a suspenseful climax at 240 miles per hour at the Indy 500 noone can forget. Wrapped up in the drama and intrigue are real business and motivational lessons which made Roger Penske one of the most successful businessmen in the world and that helped Ilmor and its cofounders, Mario Illien and the late Paul Morgan, design and manufacture Indy car and Formula 1 championship-winning engines. Beast is not only a must-read for sports and race fans, but a compelling narrative for those who enjoy genuine lessons in business and technology or thrilling mysteries based on actual events.

Driver #8

Driver #8
Author: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2009-05-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0446559296

Earnhardt recounts his rookie season and shares memories of his father in an engaging book that is sure to appeal to the millions of NASCAR (stock-car racing) fans worldwide.

In the Red

In the Red
Author: Jade Gurss
Publisher:
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2022-02-13
Genre:
ISBN: 9781642340884

Dale Earnhardt's death is the most prominent moment in NASCAR history, and millions of people around the world know about the tragedy on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. But, only a handful of people know what went on behind the scenes before and after that horrible crash. In the Red is an insider's look at the 2001 NASCAR season with his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt Jr. began his second season in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series with swagger and confidence, only to see his entire life changed drastically. In the Red is the story of how Dale Jr. persevered, overcoming boundless grief to thrive on and off the track. Written by Earnhardt Jr's publicist, Jade Gurss (who also co-authored Dale Jr's best-selling book, Driver #8), In the Red puts you inside the race car as Junior and his No. 8 Budweiser team made an emotional but triumphant return to Daytona, then scored another momentous victory in the first race after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Off the track, follow along as Junior attends the MTV Music Video Awards, and makes memorable appearances in the pages of Rolling Stone and Playboy magazines as well as emotional interviews on The Today Show and many more.

Al Unser Jr: a Checkered Past

Al Unser Jr: a Checkered Past
Author: Al Unser
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-05-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781642341034

Winning came naturally for Al Unser, Jr. He had a gift for finding the fast line on the track and he possessed a boisterous and lovable personality. Fans and the press adored him. Behind this affable persona, an appetite for drugs and alcohol was destroying his private life. Unser's battle to climb out of that cave is one of the great stories in motorsports. A Checkered Past is an unblinking story of triumph, tragedy, and the road to recovery.

The Mystery of Numbers

The Mystery of Numbers
Author: Annemarie Schimmel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1994-04-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199879850

Why is the number seven lucky--even holy--in almost every culture? Why do we speak of the four corners of the earth? Why do cats have nine lives (except in Iran, where they have seven)? From literature to folklore to private superstitions, numbers play a conspicuous role in our daily lives. But in this fascinating book, Annemarie Schimmel shows that numbers have been filled with mystery and meaning since the earliest times, and across every society. In The Mystery of Numbers Annemarie Schimmel conducts an illuminating tour of the mysteries attributed to numbers over the centuries. She begins with an informative and often surprising introduction to the origins of number systems: pre-Roman Europeans, for example, may have had one based on twenty, not ten (as suggested by the English word "score" and the French word for 80, quatrevingt --four times twenty), while the Mayans had a system more sophisticated than our own. Schimmel also reveals how our fascination with numbers has led to a rich cross-fertilization of mathematical knowledge: "Arabic" numerals, for instance, were picked up by Europe from the Arabs, who had earlier adopted them from Indian sources ("Algorithm" and "algebra" are corruptions of the Arabic author and title names of a mathematical text prized in medieval Europe). But the heart of the book is an engrossing guide to the symbolism of numbers. Number symbolism, she shows, has deep roots in Western culture, from the philosophy of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, to the religious mysticism of the Cabala and the Islamic Brethren of Purity, to Kepler's belief that the laws of planetary motion should be mathematically elegant, to the unlucky thirteen. After exploring the sources of number symbolism, Schimmel examines individual numbers ranging from one to ten thousand, discussing the meanings they have had for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions, with examples from Indian, Chinese, and Native American cultures as well. Two, for instance, has widely been seen as a number of contradiction and polarity, a number of discord and antithesis. And six, according to ancient and neo-platonic thinking, is the most perfect number because it is both the sum and the product of its parts (1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6). Using examples ranging from the Bible to the Mayans to Shakespeare, she shows how numbers have been considered feminine and masculine, holy and evil, lucky and unlucky. A highly respected scholar of Islamic culture, Annemarie Schimmel draws on her vast knowledge to paint a rich, cross-cultural portrait of the many meanings of numbers. Engaging and accessible, her account uncovers the roots of a phenomenon we all feel every Friday the thirteenth.

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing
Author: John Oreovicz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2021-05-30
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781642340563

Tradition, technology, and personal bravery combined to make the Indianapolis 500 one of the world's most famous sporting events. However, political infighting within the industry--which climaxed with a 12-year "Split" from 1996 to 2007 between competing forms of Indy car racing--prevented the sport from achieving its potential. The Split seriously tarnished the reputation of the Indianapolis 500 and allowed NASCAR to become America's most popular form of motorsport. But Indy car racing's dysfunction didn't originate in 1996. The story begins in 1945, when a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana named Tony Hulman rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from potential redevelopment. Over the next 75 years, the Hulman-George family used the stature of the Speedway to carve out a powerful position in American auto racing. Stewardship of the IMS often brought the family into conflict with Indy car competitors. A volatile period in the late 1970s resulted in the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and tensions ramped up even more when Hulman's grandson, Tony George, assumed power in 1990. The Split forced Indy car fans, sponsors, broadcasters and participants to choose sides. It created confusion and animosity and caused tremendous damage to the sport. With negotiations driven by legendary racer Mario Andretti and actor/racer Paul Newman, The Split was finally resolved in 2008, only for George to walk away less than three years later from the role he so desperately coveted. The long struggle for stability and leadership was finally resolved in 2020 when Roger Penske acquired IMS and the IndyCar Series.

The Sheer Force of Will Power

The Sheer Force of Will Power
Author: Will Power
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2015-11-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1460705440

The story of 2014 Indy Car series champion Will Power. From the dirt tracks of Queensland, Australia, to the road, street and oval race tracks of America, join Will Power on his torrid 20-year ride to the top of Indy car racing, culminating in the 2014 IndyCar Series championship. Arduous both mentally and physically, Will's journey pushes him to the limit as he finds fans and critics, friends and rivals - and eventually a reputation as the fastest racer in America. Off the track, Will is known as a man of individualism, dry humour, brutal honesty (particularly with himself), unshakable principles and a ferocious desire to learn fast and beat everyone else. All these qualities and more are revealed in a biography that will have you laughing, crying and in awe at just what it takes to rise to the top of professional racing. Will has taken the hard road, but a champion like Power would never do it any other way.

Droysen and the Prussian School of History

Droysen and the Prussian School of History
Author: Robert Southard
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2014-07-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813149738

The Prussian School of History first predicted and advocated, then celebrated and defended, the unification of Germany by Prussia. Experts in German historiography and the history of German liberalism have often complained about the lack of a book, in any language, that traces the origins and explains the ideas of this school of history. Here is that book. Robert Southard finds that, for the Prussian School, history had an agenda. These historians generally expected history to complete its main tasks in their own time and country. The outcome of their politics was, really, an "end of history"—not a cessation to historical occurrences, but a cessation of onward historical movement because the historical process had already achieved its long-term, beneficent purposes. Leading us through the intricacies of important but untranslated works of J. G. Droysen, Max Duncker, Rudolph Hayn, and Heinrich von Sybel, Southard demonstrates their belief that the historical sequence was a continual unfolding of God's plan. Indispensable for those interested in the history of German historical writing, this book also has major implications for understanding the history of political liberalism.

Hello, I'm Paul Page

Hello, I'm Paul Page
Author: Paul Page
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-12-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781642341645

Live from the broadcast booth, Paul Page captured the excitement of twenty-seven Indy 500 races, first as the "Voice of the Indy 500" for the radio broadcast and then as chief announcer for the ABC telecast. From his first race as a pit reporter to his semiretirement in 2016, generations of fans have witnessed the Greatest Spectacle in Racing as told by Paul Page. In a life uniquely shaped by the Indy 500, Page fell in love with racing and the Speedway as a teenager, and it became his obsession. After receiving his first press pass in 1965, Page became a fixture in Gasoline Alley and a trusted friend and confidante to generations of drivers, mechanics, and owners. His rise to fame followed a relentless pursuit of his dream, overcoming many obstacles along the way: dropping out of college, the suicide of his mentor, and recovering from a harrowing helicopter crash. No matter the setback, he used every opportunity to learn the trade of broadcast journalism and the sport of motor racing. In a career that spanned ABC, NBC, CBS, and ESPN, Page wore a headset for every imaginable race and contest: from Indy cars to drag racers, from the Olympics to the America's Cup, and from the X Games to Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Page weaves the history, tradition, and lore of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he traces across six decades. He introduces the great personalities of the Speedway with many candid moments. He tells great stories from broadcast booths around the world and slices of life as a young reporter in Indianapolis.