The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World

by Alexander Roy

The seven-time Road Rally champion delivers a riveting autobiography that’s “more than a testosterone cocktail of a memoir. It’s a joy ride” (Los Angeles Times).Alex Roy’s father, while on his deathbed, hints about the notorious, utterly illegal cross-country drive from Los Angeles to New York of the 1970s, which then inspired his young son to enter the mysterious world of underground road rallies. Tantalized by the legend of the Driver—the anonymous, possibly nonexistent organizer of the world’s ultimate secret race—Roy set out to become a force to be reckoned with. At speeds approaching 200 mph, he sped from London to Morocco, from Budapest to Rome, from San Francisco to Miami, in his highly modified BMW M5, culminating in a new record for the infamous Los Angeles to New York 32:07.Sexy, funny, and shocking, The Driver is a never-before-told, behind-the-wheel look at an unbelievably fast and dangerous society that has long been off-limits to ordinary mortals.“[A] highly entertaining insider’s look at the world of high-stakes, high-octane, high-risk road rallies . . . Roy writes with enthusiasm and with a novelist’s sense of pacing and character. The book is so good, so filled with color and adrenaline, that it plays out like a movie in your mind.” —Booklist (starred review)

Genres: Nonfiction

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2007

Reviews

[Larry Ludwig · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read about Alex Roy's escapades trying to beat the best time road race across America.

[Maureen Tapio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just made it from NYC to that Cali pier in 28:45

Just kidding, but enjoyed the book. Found it after watching VINWiki videos. Enjoy those too! Five more words are required, whoosh.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memoir "The Driver" by Alexander Roy is a thrilling account of Alex's experiences in the underground racing scene. This side of motor sport became Alex's life after his father, on his death bed, hinted at the highly illegal, extremely dangerous cross country race from LA to New York. Alex's father also mentioned someone called "The Driver", a man, the organiser of the most secretive most rewarding underground race. This sends Alex on a six year roller-coaster of racing, planning, and avoiding police in his search for "The Driver" and his way into "The Driver's" secretive race. Along the way Alex employs the help of his oldest friends, Jon "Nine" Goodrich and The Weis. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cars or motor sports along with anyone just looking for a wild story.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but a bit overly dramatic. Comparing what he does to military operations and a near constant fear of death are massively overblown. While he frets often of his own death he never seems to have care for the innocents he endangers with his risky ways.

[Team503]

An excellent read about Alex's venture to revive the Cannonball and understand his own past in doing so.