Barney Oldfield: The Life and Times of America's Legendary Speed King

Revised and expanded, this is the only book ever devoted to Barney Oldfield, the man who got his start at the turn of the century racing Ford’s 999 and winning the Manufacturers’ Challenge Cup.

Barney was America’s most flamboyant race driver. He took part in countless race meets between 1902 and 1918. The machines he drove included the Winton Bullet, Peerless Green Dragon, the Blitzen Benz, and Harry Miller’s Golden Submarine.

Commanding thousands of dollars for race appearances, Oldfield wore a diamond pinky ring and a sealskin coat. He raced his cars against planes and played chicken with trains, barnstormed the county fairs, brawled in saloons, and starred in films. He was the first man to go faster than a-mile-minute in a gas powered car. He set records at the dirt tracks and on the beach, raced the road courses and circled the banked board and brick tracks with the fastest of the era.

This new edition has been fully redesigned and re-illustrated, featuring 114 illustrations. An extensive bibliography, appendices of race results, and a seven page index complete this definitive book on America’s turn-of-the-century motor sport legend.