The Cannonball in Co...

The Cotton Owens Challenger on the roof of the Redbull Garage, New York City You have probably heard of the Cannonball run. The event is named after Earl Cannonball Baker, a pioneer American motorcyclist. He raced trains and rode cross country before there were proper roads. As the war in...

Open Letter to David...

I felt compelled to write in response to you two most recent backpage columns in Hotrod, one on autonomy, the next on the father son road trip. The first disappointed me enormously, the second coming so close after it made me keen to write. I do hope you read and think about what I have...

Senna: The Beatifica...

Its now 25 years since Senna’s passing, and five years since my visit to Imola. Thinking the whole experience through resulted in this paper, titled St Ayrton: The Beatification of a Racing Driver, a Commentary on How Attitudes to Ayrton Senna have Changed, which I presented at the 2018...

How Good Was “...

Daytona 1963: gotta love Lil’ Joe’s shoes ! This was prepared for the 2016 Drive History Conference, organized by the HVA at the NB Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was also presented at the 2016 International Motor Racing Research Center conference in Watkins Glen, read...

Monaco 1962 and Sere...

Part of my Motorsports in Academia crusade is about the quality of the sources, specifically film, and especially the free film on youtube. My refrain is that this is a dynamic history, where a few hours on youtube puts you on equal intellectual footing with the crusty historians and...

Imola Part 5: May 1,...

Senna Gets The Warhol Treatment: like Elvis, Monroe or a Campbell’s Soup Can; the ultimate accolade in pop iconography ? Imola, start finish, taken from the Variante Alta: Driving from the hotel onto the Via Emilia, and out of Castel San Pietro Terme to Imola in a eurobox rental car,...