Description
Author: Phil Hall and the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Hardbound, 144 Pages, ISBN: 042799342532, 1st Edition, 2002 - Second-Hand book in good order !
Stock-car racing has grown from a dirt-track Southern passion to a major-league national pastime over the last half-century, and Chevrolet has been there almost every inch of the way.
With a special introduction by three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet Stock Car Chronicle is the exciting story of the colorful men and machines, the races and moments, that put America's Bow Tie brand at the heart of five decades of stock-car action.
Chevrolet Stock Car Chronicle treats you to the excitement of fender-to-fender racing with more than 300 photos, many previously unpublished images from the archives of both the automaker and NASCAR. Lively captions detail the action, while chapter introductions present a colorful overview of stock-car history in each successive decade.
It starts with the late-Forties birth of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), which established uniform rules, point systems, and a specified series of tracks for what had formerly been a rag-tag bunch of racers. Up to that time, most of the contenders campaigned prewar cars boasting varying degrees of modifications. NASCAR's aim was to race late-model, stock vehicles—essentially what the public could buy off the showroom floor—thereby encouraging the "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" strategy that would eventually involve the automakers themselves in the sport. And become involved they did.
When official NASCAR late-model racing began in 1949, Chevrolets were ill equipped for battle with their stout but stodgy Stovebolt sixes. That all changed with the introduction of the famed "small block" V-8 in the redesigned Chevys of 1955. Not only would this engine go on to power Chevrolets to scores of NASCAR victories, it would later be used by other GM divisions to add to that tally. Today it stands as the most successful engine in NASCAR history.
The new V-8 earned its first victory in the spring of 1955 at Columbia, South Carolina's, half-mile dirt oval. In response, Chevrolet trumpeted the win in advertising and increased its factory support for racing. It looked as though the Bow Tie was ready to rumble.
Then a funny thing happened. In an abrupt 1957 about-face, American manufacturers elected to drop all support and advertising of racing activities—at least officially. But that didn't stop NASCAR, and it didn't keep Chevrolets out of the winner's circle.
Over the next four decades, Chevrolet would go on to chalk up nearly 500 Grand National/Winston Cup victories, barely trailing archrival Ford.
Much of the Chevrolet stock-car story revolves around the characters who drove them. Meet Fonty Flock, one of three racing brothers, who gave Chevrolet its first Grand National victory; "Fireball" Roberts, who got his nickname not from his antics on the racetrack, but rather his speedball from the pitcher's mound; and Junior Johnson, the stereotypical "good ol' Southern boy" and a legend in NASCAR history.
Chevrolet also helped ignite the careers of such all-time greats as Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, and Darrell Waltrip, along with latter-day heroes such as Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon—men who put their lives on a 200-mph line through the high-banked corners of today's superspeedways, thrilling their ever-devoted fans.
Never have so many rare photos and so much insightful information been captured in a single, fast-paced volume. Chevrolet Stock Car Chronicle is a prized trophy for fans of NASCAR and Chevy, and anyone who loves racing at its best!
Publications International, Ltd.
