Book Released on Legendary Jim Jorgensen & Auto Racing’s Greatest Era
Newburyport, Mass. — Motorsports publisher Coastal 181 announced today the release of their latest title, “Swamp Yankee: The Racing Life of Jim Jorgensen,” by Walt Scadden.
“Swamp Yankee” is the story of legendary crew chief and engine-builder Jim Jorgensen’s epic journey from Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., to the National Championship Indy Car Series. From the late 1950s to 1969, Jorgensen and his crew crisscrossed the country, racing his innovative stock car, sprint, and Indy Car designs with standout drivers like Gene Bergin, Buddy Krebs, Bill Brown and Denny Zimmerman.
Progressing from countless bullrings and county fair tracks to some of the most revered venues in the country such as Langhorne, Phoenix and Milwaukee, and on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jorgensen made his name and left his mark. His journey had its share of detours and heartbreaking disappointments, but it provided him the formidable education needed to compete at the highest level of racing in the country and earned him induction into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
Jorgensen’s was a time of open trailers and pick-up trucks, where a handshake was the measure of a man. His story is a compelling account of the ingenuity, passion, triumph and hardship that defined the legendary competitors of racing’s greatest era.
“Swamp Yankee” will be launched at the 12th Annual CRUISIN’ ON MAIN STREET Car Show on August 5th in Manchester, Conn., and is also available through Coastal 181, 29 Water St., Newburyport, Mass. 01950. www.coastal181.com, 877-907-8181 toll free. The book is soft cover, 152 pages, and is priced at $19.95.
Sources: Cary Stratton/Coastal 181PR