Grumpy's Toys: The Legendary Cars of Bill Grumpy Jenkins stands as a full and complete history of Jenkins' career to date as told through his cars, and has been heartily authorized by the man himself (Jenkins wrote the book's foreword.) Author Doug Boyce has been following Jenkins throughout his racing career, and amassed an impressive collection of vintage photography which is shared on the pages. Through his own knowledge, extensive research, and by working with Grumpy himself, Grumpy's Toys offers readers an unparalleled look behind the man and his machines.

This book boasts the largest collection of Jenkins-centered vintage photography ever assembled. Input from Grumpy punctuates the tales behind the now-legendary cars, and author Boyce's fan-friendly writing style entertains. Many myths about both Jenkins and his formidable racing cars have grown over the decades, and this book separates the fact from the fiction. This book is essential for the true drag racing fan.

Learn the entire fascinating story of the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) in this wonderfully illustrated color history.

When the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was formed in 1951 by Wally Parks, the reasoning for the formation was to create order from chaos by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport of drag racing. Some organization was certainly necessary. A postwar boom in automotive enthusiasm was reaching new heights, and Hot Rod magazine and the NHRA were right in the thick of it.

The NHRA hosted its first drag racing event in 1953, and in 1955, the organization staged its first national event, which was simply called The Nationals. The AHRA formed in 1956 as an alternative to the NHRA, where the drivers voted on the rules (rather than sanctioning bodies and tracks), and their influence on the sport was felt almost immediately.

When the NHRA denied the use of nitromethane in 1957, the AHRA approved it. When the NHRA banned aircraft-powered dragsters in 1961, the AHRA welcomed them. When the NHRA said no to the emerging Funny Car in 1965, the AHRA said yes. When fans and racers screamed for a heads-up Super Stock category in 1968, the AHRA delivered. The AHRA was called a rebel association. Some say that it was more of an association that got things done--to the delight of fans and racers. The AHRA was on equal ground with the NHRA by the 1970s, drawing enormous crowds and racer entries.

In this fascinating history, veteran author Doug Boyce tells the story of the AHRA: the rise, the competition, the events, and the eventual downfall of the organization. After AHRA President Jim Tice passed away in 1982, internal fighting for control of the association resulted in its doom. Get the whole story here, and add this wonderful volume to your drag racing library.

In the 1950s and 1960s, drag racing was an exciting new sport that anyone with a car could participate in. Based on their equipment, the participants' cars were assigned to specific classes. This structure made it possible to compete against others with similar equipment, and for the most talented tuners and drivers to become National Champions and/or World Record holders in their class.

This class format encouraged amateur participation on a level never before seen. Drag racing was a popular hobby for many, and their competition vehicles were typically warmed-over street cars that had been strategically upgraded to the limits of their specific class. This made drag racing wildly popular and amazingly attainable. The end of the class structure meant a great loss in the sport's popularity, but these amazing times will never be forgotten.

Stock-class drag racing is celebrated in this new book, with hundreds of vintage color photographs showing the way it used to be. If you were a fan or participant back in the day, or are a lover of vintage drag cars, Junior Stock: Stock Class Drag Racing 1964-1971 is a book you'll thoroughly enjoy.

Re-live the 1970s with this book that covers a sensational and unique decade of drag racing history!

In the 1950s, drag racing was in its infancy. The sport made incredible technological advancements in the 1960s, and that technology was streamlined and refined with a sense of professionalism in the 1970s. It became more difficult for a local, homebuilt, shoestring-budget team to compete at the national level. These teams were priced out of the top classes by larger teams that had more sponsorship money. So, the low-budget teams dropped to less-expensive classes or simply sold their gear and stopped competing.

However, drag racing in the 1970s was fascinating in its own right. There was still a significant amount of development as well as new classes to celebrate. Funny Cars morphed from altered-wheelbase doorslammers in the early 1960s to full-blown, tube-chassis, flip-top fiberglass-bodied beasts by 1970. This led to the creation of the Pro Stock class, which was a popular child of the 1970s, with its rivalries and connections to the Detroit manufacturers. In the interest of safety, Top Fuel cars became mid-engine beasts, and they turned out to be faster as well. By the end of the decade, Funny Cars nearly became full-bodied versions of the Top Fuel cars. Many of these developments are still evident in NHRA racing today.

In Drag Racing in the 1970s, veteran racing author Doug Boyce takes you chronologically through the entire exciting decade, covering the cars, the classes, and the future hall-of-fame drivers who raced them. The transition to professionalism, the big-money sponsors, the many sanctioning bodies, the rivalries, and even the lower classes (such as Modified Eliminator and Super Stock) are chronicled in this illustrated tribute. Add a copy to your drag racing library today.

Relive or discover the exciting history of match racing through the cars, drivers, rivalries, events, and everything that was fun about match racing in drag racing's golden era.

This volume by veteran drag race author Doug Boyce is enhanced with wonderful vintage photography provided by fans and professionals in attendance.

Drag racing is a very regulated sport. In the history of the NHRA, IHRA, and other sanctioning bodies, many classes exist in an effort to make sure the cars racing against each other are as equal as possible. It is a noble, if not futile, pursuit. Two cars face off that have very similar statistics in terms of weight, transmission type, fuel type, estimated horsepower, and all other sorts of measurables. The byproduct is that often the races that were fair were not the races that the fans wanted to see.

During the golden age of drag racing, fans didn't care as much about class racing as much as they wanted to see scores settled, rivalries battled, and interesting matchups. There were the manufacturer rivalries, Ford versus Chevy, Chevy versus Mopar, Mopar versus Ford, as well as numerous driver rivalries. Match races were also a great way to feature wildly popular cars that no longer had a class in which to compete, yet the fans still wanted to see them. So popular and intense were these races that many track promoters didn't bother to promote class racing at all. Instead, they used the match races as headliners, similar to the marquee at your local arena or a billboard in Las Vegas, all resulting in putting more fans in the stands. And the drivers loved it too. Although the prize money for national events was fairly average for the day, the extra appearance fees and prize money to lure the most popular match racers to events increased the driver's take exponentially. Many of the most popular pro drivers quit class racing altogether just to go match racing.

If you are a fan of any class of drag racing from any era, Match Race Mayhem: Drag Racing's Grudges, Rivalries and Big-Money Showdowns is a fun addition to your racing library.

Author Doug Boyce is well known for his encyclopedia-like knowledge of drag racing facts. The detail in his previous books, such as Grumpy's Toys, Junior Stock and Drag Racing's Quarter Mile Warriors: Then and Now, proves he is up to the task of sharing everything you never knew about drag racing in the golden era.

Whether you're an avid fan of nostalgia drags, a trivia buff who wants to stump friends, or simply a fan of the big and powerful drag cars of the 1950s through the 1980s, this book is an informative and entertaining collection of facts from one of the industry's most respected sources.

Relive the roar of Dyno Don Nicholson's iconic drag racing cars from Chevrolet, Mercury, and Ford and dive into at his legendary career with the detailed accounts in this book.

Nicholson's first wins on a national level were actually in the early 1960s in Chevrolet products. He became extremely successful on the match-race circuit. Then, in 1964, he switched over to Mercury with the new Comet after General Motors enacted a factory ban on racing activities. He won 90 percent of his match races that year. He stuck with Ford and Mercury products and won throughout the 1960s and 1970s, even after Ford also pulled the plug on factory team sponsorship. He made it to the final rounds in nearly 50 national events during that period, in addition to winning championships, awards, and match races along the way.

Drivers often became associated with a particular manufacturer, such as Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler through sponsorship, factory team rides, or sometimes simply their own preference. The more successful drivers became household names in the drag racing community. Chevy had Grumpy Jenkins, Pontiac had Arnie the Farmer Beswick, Mopar had Sox & Martin and Dandy Dick Landy, and Ford's most successful driver of the era was the legendary Dyno Don Nicholson.

If you are a fan of a certain era of racing, a Ford fan, or certainly a Dyno Don fan, this book will be a welcome addition to your library.

With the introduction of Chevy's OHV V-8 in 1955, the brand's domination on the drag strip immediately snowballed. Drag racers loved the compact V-8. It was lightweight, revved high, and responded like no other engine previously produced. Chevy saw a record year in sales in 1955, thanks to a combination of a restyled body and the new mill. It was the age of ingenuity, and those who could get their hands on the new engine were swapping it into engine bays that once housed other weaker mills. Ford's flathead, one that had dominated for so long, was rendered obsolete almost overnight.

Chevy had a winner and dominated the sales charts for years to come. Aftermarket manufacturers got on board and offered all the go-fast goodies needed to make Chevy a winner, no matter what category they ran. From Dragsters to Stock, Chevy's success was immediate. And it was a long-term success, thanks to a combination of years of great styling and a vast array of driveline combinations.

Accomplished racing author Doug Boyce takes a celebratory look at those years of success, with a focus on the first 25 years (1955 through 1980). Chevrolets gave rise to such stars as Bill Grumpy Jenkins, Jungle Jim Liberman, Sneaky Pete Robinson, Dyno Don Nicholson, Sox & Martin, Dick Harrell, Dave Strickler, and many more. World champs and fan favorites all drove Chevys. The success showed in the record books. No brand has won more races and events or has set more national records than Chevrolet. And unlike the other manufacturers, Ford and Chrysler, it was done with little to no factory support.

Whether you are a hardcore Chevy fan or just love catching up on the history of drag racing during the golden age, this nostalgic look at Chevy racing history is sure to entertain for hours on end.

The 1960s were a fascinating decade on the race scene. Relive the memories today through this wonderful new book.

Drag racing has a long and storied history. Many have said that the first drag race happened shortly after the second car was made. While that may or may not be true, racing prior to World War II was mostly centered around dry-lake activities and top-speed runs. After the war, drag racing became organized with the formation of the NHRA, and during the 1950s, many tracks were built across America to accommodate the racers. Technology in the 1950s centered on the manufacturers updating old flathead designs into newer overhead-valve designs, and the horsepower race really started to heat up.

In many forms of racing, the 1960s brought technological evolution. The decade began with big engines in even bigger stock chassis and ended with purpose-built race-only chassis, fiberglass bodies, fuel injection, nitro methane, and blowers. Quarter-mile times that were in the 13-second range in the beginning of the decade were in the 7-second range by the end. New classes were formed, dedicated cars were built for them, and many racers themselves became recognized names in the sports landscape.

In Drag Racing In the 1960s: The Evolution in Race Car Technology, veteran author Doug Boyce takes you on a ride through the entire decade from a technological point of view rather than a results-based one. Covered are all the classes, including Super Stocks, Altered Wheelbase cars (which led to Funny Cars), Top Fuelers, Gassers, and more.