"TV" Tommy Ivo: Drag Racing's Master Showman - Hardcover

Cotter, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760338922 ISBN 13: 9780760338926

Publisher: Motorbooks, 2011

Synopsis

2011 International Automotive Media Gold Award Winner

In the early 1960s, Tommy Ivo had the world in the palm of his hands. Still a young man, he was already a star of television and film with a promising Hollywood future ahead of him. Then his producers told him he had to quit drag racing. He quit the entertainment industry instead.

This is the official story of Ivo’s incredible life and racing career. Readers will follow “TV” Tommy as he becomes the most ambitious drag racer in the nation, building his own cars in the garage behind his Burbank home; becoming the first driver to pilot his dragsters to 170, 175, and 180 miles per hour and towing his cars to match races at small-town drag strips across the United States.

Always the showman, Ivo pioneered promotional techniques that are today taken for granted. In this regard especially, his impact on the sport cannot be understated, and his legacy is detailed in this incredible bio of one of drag racing’s most irrepressible characters.

About this title

About the Authors

Tom Cotter had long been involved in nearly every facet of the automotive and racing industries before writing his first book. From mechanic and auto salesman to heading the public relations department at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cotter formed his own racing and automotive PR and marketing agency, Cotter Group. The agency represented some of the largest clients in NASCAR, IndyCar/CART, drag racing, and road racing. He has written biographies of the legendary Holman-Moody race team, Tommy Ivo and Dean Jeffries, but is best known for his series of barn find books, such as Cobra in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust and Barn Find Road Trip. Cotter appears in the Barn Find Hunter video series, which is distributed by Hagerty. He teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College, sits on the advisory board of McPherson College's Auto Restoration program, and is a member of the Road Racing Driver's Club (RRDC.) He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.

Don €œThe Snake€� Prudhomme is one of the most legendary names in drag racing, logging 32 seasons behind the wheel as one of the sport's elite drivers. Beginning in 1962, he logged 49 career victories and won 389 of 5,989 competition rounds. He lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Drag Racing s Master Showman, TV Tommy Ivo:

When no one had mag wheels, Ivo had polished Halibrands. When guys were welding up junkyard parts, Ivo had candy apple paint jobs and chrome plating. It was Ivo who helped turn drag racing from a hobby into a profession. He deserves all the credit.

Drag racing legend Don The Snake Prudhomme, from his foreword

Ivo was tough, and he figured out early on that he could make more money as a showman than as a serious competitor. In those days, competitive drag racing didn t pay very much.

Don Big Daddy Garlits, 17-time national drag racing champion

Ivo taught me to make people laugh even when I wasn t winning. He taught me to look fans in the eye when I signed autographs, to ask their name and to make them feel special.

John Force, 14-time Funny Car champion

From the Inside Flap

In 1961, Tommy Ivo had the world in the palm of his hand. At 25, he was not only a star of television and screen, but a successful touring drag racer as well. Then his producers told him he had to quit racing.

Ivo quit Hollywood instead.

Here is the story of TV Tommy s incredible life and racing career, related by Ivo to award-winning automotive journalist Tom Cotter and profusely illustrated with images from Ivo s own archives. Follow the former child star as he evolves from teenage hot rodder to the world s most ambitious drag racer, building his own cars in the garage behind his Burbank home and barnstorming the nation. In addition to profiling Ivo s 31 iconic cars including his trendsetting 23 T-bucket, his mind-bending twin- and four-engine dragsters, and the Funny Cars in which he took his leave from the racing stage Cotter relates how Ivo, ever the showman, pioneered the techniques that today s race promoters take for granted. Throughout, the tales behind Ivo s career and cars are generously complemented with commentary from such racing luminaries as Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme, and Shirley Muldowney.

Tommy Ivo s impact on the sport cannot be understated. Here, finally, is the definitive biography of one of drag racing s most irrepressible characters.

Edition details

• Publisher: Motorbooks
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0760338922
• ISBN 13: 9780760338926
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240