The NASCAR Vault: An Official History Featuring Rare Collectibles from Motorsports Images And Archives

by H.A. Branham, Buz McKim

For the first time ever, NASCAR has opened its massive archives to the public, taking fans on a speed-defying journey through a national phenomenon s evolution. The NASCAR Vault chronicles the astonishing growth of one of America's greatest obsessions, through more than 150 images and 26 NASCAR collectibles that will awe and delight racing fans. Features include NASCAR's first race report, NASCAR founder Bill France's 1938 Indianapolis 500 pit pass, and a ticket to Dale Earnhardt's first Daytona 500 victory. Dynamic photos will help readers relive the excitement of NASCAR from its early years through its enormous popularity today. Both authors have deep roots in racing, with Branham growing up a mile from the Indianapolis racetrack and McKim's father owning cars that competed in NASCAR in the 1950s. Finally, the story of NASCAR is being told the way it should in 3-D. Removable replica documents
- NASCAR founder Bill France's 1938 Indianapolis 500 pit pass
- NASCAR's first race report
- NASCAR's 1948 Rules and Specifications brochure
- A race day program from legendary Bowman Gray Stadium
- An invitation from former President Jimmy Carter to the first-ever White House banquet honoring NASCAR
- A ticket to Dale Earnhardt's first Daytona 500 victory

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Ring-bound

First published March 2, 2006

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a combination of a very condensed history of Nascar up to the early 2000's and a scrapbook with lots of replica tickets, programs, entry lists and results. Well done even if it is very superficial.

[Darth Jader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good, if brief overview of NASCAR and its evolution throughout the decades. The beginning of the book focuses on the formation of NASCAR, although it doesn't touch on the moonshine running origins of souped up cars. I don't know if this is because the authors were official employees of NASACR and they just wanted to focus on specific NASCAR related history, but I do think this should have been touched upon as it is the biggest reason for the formation of organized racing in the early 40s and 50s. Each chapter of the book focuses on a specific decade until the 1990s. I enjoyed each chapter of the book, especially the driver quotes, looking at the old archived items provided on some pages, and learning a bit more about the supercar of the decade. I think this book does a great job of delving into the history of some of the biggest moments in NASCAR (like the first pavement race in Darlington, the building of Daytona and Talladega superspeedways, and the iconic 1979 Daytona 500 that catapulted NASCAR into a mainstream sport). I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about the drivers in each decade that made the sport worth watching. This is a great introductory book into the history of NASCAR and a surface level look at the people who made it into a national pastime (CEOs, team owners, and drivers). I learned a lot about some early drivers and I want to learn more about Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, and Fireball Roberts. I hope others who read this book find an interesting topic or driver and read more about them as well.