[Book Review] Race to Win

Race to Win

By Derek Daly

Another book that has been updated and re-released is this guide to establishing a racing career in which the author lists β€œthe seven essential skills of the complete champion.” Daly has his own credentials as a driver, of course, highlighted by five seasons of Formula One and eight years racing Indycars, as well as twice winning the 12 Hours of Sebring and scoring a further pair of IMSA wins while driving for Nissan.

Upon retiring from the cockpit he founded the Derek Daly Academy for schooling young drivers, so he knows whereof he speaks. Further, his own son Conor is presently making his way through the sport’s learning process and just contested his first Indy 500.

It’s not only Daly’s voice that we hear in these pages, however, as he also enlists the thoughts of top journalists, engineers and other drivers (the Foreword is by Mario Andretti) to help make his points, and it is through these comments that readers learn the habits and methods of some of the most successful drivers who ever raced. These insights alone make this book worth the read.

We’re all aware that this is a subject on which many people may have many different opinions, all of which could be correct since racing’s overriding rule of thumb is always β€œWhatever Works.”

Available for US$29.95 from enthusiast bookstores or directly from publisher Octane Press at www.Octanepress.com