Description
Author: Gordon Eliot White, Hardbound, 200 Pages, ISBN: 9781626541054, First Published in 1996, Reprinted in 2004 and 2015
- The Legendary Racing Engine and the Men Who Built It
No other word so accurately describes the Offenhauser engine's six-decade reign over American auto racing. On small urban tracks, state fair dirt circuits, and Indy's brick oval, -Offy" was synonymous with "winner circle.-
At the height of its power in the 1950s, entire Indy grids were composed of Offenhauserpowered roadsters. Neither the rear-engined revolution of the mid-1960s nor the entry of major players like Ford would knock Offy from its throne. When the "little four with the big punch" finally ceased being competitive in the early 1980s. it was a victim of the rule book more than any engineering shortcoming.
This book traces the glorious history of the most renowned American racing engine of all time. Author Gordon Eliot White has thoroughly resecrched this story from the early days of Harry Miller, through Fred Offenhauser, to the final days under Meyer & Drake ownership. More than 250 historical black-and-white photographs and a special color section accompany White's fascinating narrative. With over 18,000 copies sold, this book tells the definitive story of the designers, machinists, and drivers who created the Offenhauser legend_ Essential reading for the racing historian and fan, White's book captures the human, technicci, and political aspects of Offenhauser's unforgettable story.
Gordon Eliot White has been a journalist since 1952 and a racing fan since 1938. He wrote for Illustrated Speedway News and spent much of his career as a newspaperman in Washington, D. C. Winner of numerous awards for writing and twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting, White holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a graduate degree from Columbia University. After his retirement from newspaper writing in 1991, White became the Auto Racing Advisor at the Smithsonian Institution. He appraises antique racing cars, and he has worked as a consultant for Richard Petty and has judged antique racing cars at Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, among other venues.
White holds the International 2-Litre (displacement) FIA Speed Record of 153.445 mph and the US midget record of 156.902 mph set in his Offenhauser-powered racing car, winner of the Antique Automobile Club of America's Grand National First Prize. At age 81, White continues to drive in vintage car events.
