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Ford: The Dust and the Glory Vols. I and II
Henry Ford drove in a race just once – and won that October 1901 event. During the next 112 years men like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jackie Stewart, Fred Lorenzen and John Force followed the company's founder, driving Fords to a multitude of victories and championships. All of this, and more, can be found in the definitive history of the company's first century of competition, Ford: The Dust and the Glory, volumes I and II, by award-winning author Leo Levine. They are available as e-books (both volumes included in the price) for the first time, exclusively through Amazon.
Volume One, 1901-1968, covers the early history as well as the “Total Performance" campaign of the 1960s which included victories at Le Mans, still considered the most intensive effort by a major manufacturer to use racing as the key instrument in its' marketing.
Volume Two provides a look at international racing for the next 33 years through the centennial celebration, going beyond a chronological review of dates and facts about racers like Cale Yarborough, Niki Lauda, Richard Petty and Bob Glidden to cover the ideas, the decisions, the foresight – and in some cases the mistakes – of car owners, engineers, sponsors and corporate management.
Henry Ford and his immortal Model T not only put America on wheels, he also put the country behind the wheel of a race car, as there were probably more racing conversions of the Model T than all other makes combined. The flathead V8 coupes of the 1930's and 40's were the preferred ride of the southeastern bootleggers who ran whiskey in their cars on weeknights, then used the same iron Sundays on the dirt tracks of the Carolinas – resulting in the creation of NASCAR.
Ford was there at the beginning, just as Ford was on hand at the start of the National Hot Rod Association, and Ford was there in the 1960s when the company's “Total Performance" campaign resulted in victories at Indianapolis, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and dominance of Formula One world championship events for more than a decade.
The great Ford stock-car teams are described in detail, and so are the stories of the great drivers. Almost without exception, they all drove for Ford at one time or another: Parnelli Jones, Baja 1,000 winners Ak Miller and Ray Brock, and Carroll Shelby, the Texan who developed the Ford-engined Cobras and led the Ford GT team to victories at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona.
Racing in America is Ford, and Ford is racing in America. These two volumes describe it all.
