Exceeds Expectations

After a hugely successful launch at Santa Pod featuring many past and present drag racing stars, Brian Taylor's new book Crazy Horses has already established itself as the best selling drag racing title on online bookstore Amazon.co.uk.

It has also been consistently outselling mainstream motorsport books on Formula 1 and motorcycle racing. Haynes Sales and Marketing Director, Jeremy Yates-Round said: "The strong performance against other well established titles has exceeded expectations; motorsport fans have obviously been waiting for a great book covering the whole history of British Drag Racing."

Crazy HorsesThe History of British Drag Racing

Brian Taylor

Publication: Out Now, Format: Hardback, RRP: £25.00, ISBN: 978 1 84425 425 5

Drag racing is an outrageous explosion of noise, smell, colour and characters- the ultimate extreme motorsport. Here is the full history of the UK drag racing scene - the personalities, the cars, the events, the creativity, conflicts and triumphs.  Crazy Horses is the first detailed account of how the American sport of drag racing burst on to the restrictive 1960s British motorsport scene and changed it forever. Tweed jackets were out, colourful racing jackets and T- shirts were in.

This highly entertaining book looks back to the sport's British sprinting roots in the 1900s and the speed events on the American lakes which led to US drag racing in the late 1940s. Revered commentator Brian Taylor describes how the British Hot Rod Association was formed, Sydney Allard built a dragster for sprinting, and British drag racing took off in the mid 1960s as top American stars visited the UK. This was also the decade that the home of UK Drag Racing - Santa Pod Raceway opened in Bedfordshire. The sport gradually became pan European, until it has now reached a professional status, with global TV coverage of FIA events and top European racers competing in the US. Meticulously researched and dramatically illustrated, Crazy Horses features many historic photographs and a wealth of first-hand memories from the leading protagonists.

There are currently three permanent drag strips in Britain. Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire remains the UK hub for FIA championship rounds with Shakespeare County Raceway in Warwickshire and York Dragway in Yorkshire also holding regular events. For the competitors, drag racing is an all-consuming lifestyle.It has bankrupted many people, caused the breakdown of many marriages and  even cost lives. But the racers are still drawn to this absorbing sport, whose open approach to building regulations gives creativity full reign with some of these machines now developing over 7000 bhp. Spectators have been attracted to the stunning spectacle for over 40 years, helped by the fan-friendly atmosphere that appeals to every member of the family.

Author Brian Taylor first saw drag racing at the 1965 Drag Fest at Blackbushe and has been hooked ever since.  He commentated at Santa Pod for many years, chaired the British Drag Racing and Hot Rod Association, and is still closely involved in the sport as one of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame selectors.He lives in Sidmouth, Devon.