Frank Lockhart: American Speed King
By James O’Keefe and Sarah Morgan-Wu
Frank Lockhart is a classic example of a racing driver taken too soon, as his meteoric rise to fame was cut short as he tried to do even more. Barely 25 pages of text are needed to tell the tale of this American racing legend’s truncated life, so the heart of this exhaustively researched 256-page inaugural volume in the “American Racing History Series” from Boston-based Racemaker Press is its excellent photography from the Roaring Twenties, a time when America’s fascination with the automobile and the finding of its limits flourished.
Also here are Lockhart’s complete racing record, a chronicle of his Land Speed Record attempts and details of his most famous machines—including the Stutz Black Hawk that carried him to his fate on the sands of Daytona Beach. Perhaps Lockhart’s genius is best represented in the extensive Appendices, where factual evidence surrounding his accomplishments, his demise and his legacy is presented.
The authors note that their task included validating or disproving the many myths that sprang up around Lockhart’s fleeting flash of fame, and they appear to have done a remarkably complete job.
Available for US$75.00 from enthusiast bookstores or direct from publisher Racemaker at www.racemaker.com
