Motor racing has appeared in a large number of books over the years. This is because the activity is popular with many different types of people from all over the world. This popularity has increased due to the surge of motorsports betting recently. Gamblers like to make wagers on races via the internet.
Some of the best racing books are novelisations based on Hollywood films. Readers will usually see the film version first and then read the story in print. The main benefit of this is that it allows the main plot and characters to be expanded. Readers can get inside a character’s head better compared to movie versions.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
In this surreal work of semi-fiction a journalist and his friend head to Las Vegas during the late 1960s. Their goal is to report on the Mint 400 desert race. However, due to the large amount of dust being sprayed by the speeding motorbikes, the visibility of the event ends up being minimal. They are unable to follow the results of the race or take adequate pictures of competitors. Eventually, they decide to abandon the race and focus on a completely different topic for their story.
The Wacky Races Handbook
Many people will be familiar with this comedy children’s cartoon series. Each episode concerns a car race between numerous strange characters. This includes cavemen, monsters and soldiers. The main villains are Dick Dastardly and his pet dog Muttley. In the Wacky Races Handbook, readers get to learn about the different drivers that have featured in the show. There are character profiles, episode guides and fictional interviews from the racers.
Death Race 2020
This comic book series is a sequel to the action film Death Race 2000. It is set in a dystopian future where celebrities compete in dangerous races. The film came out in 1975 and eventually gained a cult following. Twenty years later the comic book was released and featured several of the original characters.
Herbie: Fully Loaded
In recent years there has been a surge in the number of novels marketed for young adults. Herbie: Fully Loaded is an excellent example of this. It is an adaption of the movie of the same name starring Lindsay Lohan. The story is set in the world of car racing. In real life, people use sites such as Unibet to make wagers on this sport. However, in this story placing bets would be cheating because one of the cars, Herbie is sentient. He makes friends with his driver and takes her on a fun adventure.
Rebel Without a Cause
This book is adapted from the classic drama starring James Dean. It follows a group of teenagers as they try to navigate through adolescence. It is notable for being one of the earliest stories to take the struggles of American teens seriously. In one chapter, the main character gets into a dangerous drag race with another boy.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max is set in the near future where humans live in a savage desert landscape. This novelisation focuses on a high paced race across dystopian Australia. The characters drive around in large and powerful vehicles capable of travelling at very high speeds. At one point a car engine becomes so strained that a character spits petrol into it.