Martin Rudow

I was a teenager and into my early 20's when these tracks were up and running. I read about the races held in these places in news papers and in magazines, even visited Meadowdale with racer once, who was racing there. But, in many cases I was unaware of what happened to them; why no more races? Now I know and in a way that brings back the romance of that era. Takes the sting(in a way) out of their demise and knowing their current status is somehow comforting. Being able to see the old and show more new of the track site is also very satisfying, if a bit sad when thinking of "the good old days" and, maybe, of what might have been. For race fans who also want to relive the excitement of the racing tradition of the 50's and 60's, this is a must have. show less

This is a fine book. It works on two levels. First, as a stand alone history of seventeen now closed race courses; second, as a reference to be utilized with other racing history resources. As a history the author has provided compelling narrative, archival photographs, maps and diagrams, and first person accounts recalling the history of each venue. As a reference the book provides aid to the student of American racing with its diagrams and maps of each course allowing a perspective of the show more challenges sometimes lacking in racing histories which omit the physical layout of the track.
The book is also a trip back in time. It is nostalgia for those race fans who attended events held at these seventeen tracks; a look back at the cars and personalities which were the heart and soul of an earlier era. show less

i love looking at pictures of places that were once popular destinations but have now gone unused for a long period of time. yes they are sad (especially if they were dear to you) but I find them fascinating. I also happen to LOVE nascar road course racing. so this book seemed like it would be right up my alley. im happy to say that it did not disappoint! lots of great photos, the writing was fantastic and very very detailed (I cant imagine the hours the author put in!) and what really put show more it over the top was showing diagrams of the original course lay outs. to me, that stuff was just so cool to see! this is the 3rd book ive read by car tech and I just can emphasize enough how good these folks are at what they do!!!!!! car tech, you've done it again........another home run! show less

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Lost Road Courses is a treasure-trove of facts about road courses that are no longer active (and that, in many cases, have disappeared with little trace). This book works on many levels.

At first glance, each chapter quickly presents basic facts about the particular road course being discussed in the chapter: the name and location of the course, the years it was in operation, a brief description show more of the track length and type, the racing series which appeared there, and the current status. There is also a basic diagram of the track. So the casual browser of the book can quickly glean a lot of basic information with little effort.

For the detail-hungry reader, the book is a gold mine. In each track's chapter, Rudow describes the circumstances of the founding of the track, and offers a season-by-season discussion of the major events, drivers, and circumstances regarding the challenges involved in keeping the track running. He also describes the circumstances leading to each track's demise, and describes what has happened to each site.

Oh, and there are photos! There are many, many photos. We see photos of the tracks in action, the cars which raced on them, and the drivers who battled. Furthermore, Rudow visited each track site and provides photos of what is (or is not) left of the tracks in the present day.

Rudow has obviously done his homework, and researched this book well. It's well-organized, and for the most part well-written.

It's probably quibbling, but I'm taking a half-star off my rating for some annoying sentence fragments. (Examples: "Not what sports car drivers were used to." (Page 12) "Which it was, after all." (page 168); I have a thing about the use of sentence fragments in formal non-fiction writing. (Used judiciously, they can be an effective device in novels.), These were especially grating because they tended to be at the end of paragraphs. It's a minor point.

The book still gets 4 1/2 stars from me. If I could give it 4 3/4, I would. show less