About this item
Who won the first Daytona 500? Fans still debate whether it was midwestern champion Johnny Beauchamp, declared the victor at the finish line, or longtime NASCAR driver Lee Petty, declared the official winner a few days after the race. The Ghosts of NASCAR puts the controversial finish under a microscope. Author John Havick interviewed scores of people, analyzed film of the race, and pored over newspaper accounts of the event. He uses this information and his deep knowledge of the sport as it worked then to determine what probably happened. But he also tells a much bigger story: the story of how Johnny Beauchamp—and his Harlan, Iowa, compatriots, mechanic Dale Swanson and driver Tiny Lund—ended up in Florida driving in the 1959 Daytona race.
About the Author
John Havick's book, The Ghosts of NASCAR: The Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500 (University of Iowa Press), was chosen at the annual meeting of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association as the second best motorsport book published in 2013. John has had many radio interviews and author talk appearances. As a child John became interested in racing when an up-and-coming competitor, Johnny Beauchamp, purchased young Havick's grandfather's old passenger car. As it happened, many of John's relatives lived in Harlan, Iowa, Beauchamp's home-town, and also the home-town of other important racers: Tiny Lund and motor magician Dale Swanson. Beauchamp began racing the car at local tracks, including one at Playland Park, a facility built during WW2 by gangster Meyer Lansky. This track was situated in the metropolitan area of Omaha-Council Bluffs. The Playland oval, on the Iowa side of the Missouri river, was within a long walk of John's home; on his paper route, he delivered to the track office. He followed the news from Harlan about the racers' exploits; he watched the races, visited the pits after the contests, and did a lap with Johnny Beauchamp driving the race car. In addition to personal observation, the book is based on several hundred interviews and extensive research of print sources. John has a Ph. D. in political science and was a university professor for more than thirty years. He is the editor of one book, and the author of American Democracy in Transition: A Communications Revolution. He has published a number of articles, including the widely read and cited "The Impact of the Internet on a Television-Based Society," Technology in Society. More information is available at: www.ghostsofnascar.com. He continues to learn and write in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
