Beast Hardcover – May 8, 2014

The short version of my assessment of this book is that it's a must read for any old Penske or CART fans. The author told me he hoped it was worth the investment and I can honestly say it was.Longer version:In the early 90's, as a budding road racer and massive Emerson Fittipaldi fan, I recall the buildup toward the 1994 Indy 500. According to the buzz in the press, it seemed Roger Penske had exploited a loophole in the rules to build a stock block engine that was developed to the point where it would produce massive horsepower; the number tossed about was 1000+. The facts were much more complicated; the engine was not a stock block (but still obviously within the limitations set by the rules) rather an engineering masterpiece developed specifically for the 1994 race and in an amazingly short period of time. The engine was designed and built by the team at Ilmor and driven (figuratively)/ financed by Roger Penske. This book does a great job of chronicling that process, from idea to development to testing to the race and beyond.In addition to the 'what happened' piece, he also walks the reader through the 'why' in the form of providing crucial background in key areas such as history of the series, rules, players, etc. He does this in a sort of jumping back and forth manner that, once I got used to it, worked surprisingly well. There were a lot of important players involved in the program from Ilmor and Penske. The author does his best to insure each receives their proper share of credit in the process but does a good job of not overwhelming the reader in a sea of names. What probably struck me the most about this book, in terms of providing serious depth, was the access he had to so many of the who's who in Indycar at the time (I guess when Roger Penske blesses an author's project, that buys a lot of credibility). Emmo, Al Jr., Paul Tracy, Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, and the list goes on. He also speaks to people who can provide context such as folks from USAC. Again, the involvement of the wide variety of Indycar insiders was what really brought the book alive for me and provided incredible depth.Make no mistake, this is not a book I'd recommend for anyone not a motorhead. While the author does an admirable job of breaking down the technical jargon, and why it's important, it will still cause your wife's eyes to glaze over.There was one aspect of this book that I dislike. I had almost forgotten how much I loathe and despise Tony George for single handedly ruining open wheel racing in the US. 20 years after the fact he's just as guilty of the travesty as he was then. It also reminded me how mad I was at Emmo for being a hot dog and blowing the race win. But that's a minor issue.

Of course the best racing book was one I read when I was a little kid , "These Ford's still Run" . I check it out of the Daytona Beach library . unfortunately one cannot get this book any more .1994 was the last year a real Indy 500 was run . it has been 20 years since then. That is the sad part .We had a open wheel racing series that was every bit as good as Formula 1 , and a amateur threw it away .Roger Penske is the best auto racer of the last half of the 20 th century . Enzo Ferrari was the best for the first half . Every time I see Mr Penske run his sport teams at a speedway , I cannot help to imagine what would happen to the USA if someone like this could ever be president of the USA . The world couldn't handle it . Mr Penske is beyond what someone could ever imagine as a genius . What a life he has had . There could never be just one book written about his life , This one covers one very small area of just one year and a month , and every year his life becomes more successful . The way Mr Penske has treated Hélio Castroneves only begins to show how loyal he is to those who work for him . Mr Penske is a total class act. After the 1994 Indy 500 I had heard the Mercedes engines were leased , and Mercedes boxed them up and flew them back to Germany . After reading the book , you know that wasn't right ( I guess most of what the common race fan heard about these engines was not correct ) , but imagine my utter surprise when I saw one while being shown someone's car collection . In a line of 20 or so to die for racing engines sat a Mercedes Indy engine . When I ask " how did you get this ?" the person just smiled . It is at the Unser car museum in Albuquerque . This book will be read by every race fan so don't be left out . This is a must read . It would be great if we could get some of this racing drama in real time . Instead we get stupid human interest stories during the race, instead of racing on TV . after all , who would want to watch auto racing ? Speed channel has been raped and now we get to watch INDY qualifying on ESPN 3 . After all ESPN thinks softball is more important . oh yes , one typo on page 156

I really loved this book! I can't believe I didn't read it before but a fantastic story that any reader will enjoy

I was working as a mechanic for Payton Coyne Racing when the Mercedes engine was being developed by Penske and found the Beast very entertaining and informative read. This period, in my opinion, was the end of an era in open wheel racing in the U.S. Many of the sports legends were stepping away along with what made the Indy 500 the legendary event it once was, innovation. To be able "run what ya brung" as long as it was within the rules is what made the race so fascinating. Are team had great luck qualifying with the Stock Block Buick V6, in previous races, those things were fast, just not dependable. Not so great luck one year, blowing up 16 motors during the month and failing to put any cars in the field. The fact that Penske and Ilmor were able to build such a powerful, dependable pushrod engine in less than a year is incredible. The racing community is like a small town and there is always gossip, we heard talk that Penske was up to something when the season started, but no one knew for sure what they were really doing. The book recalled some forgotten incidents during that month of May and rekindled my love of the sport of open wheel racing. Gurss was able to show us some of the colorful personalities that make up the racing community along with the hard work and dedication that most fans are unaware of. Racing is long hours and hard work whether you are one of the top teams or a back marker, and this book shows that. Anyone from the hard core race fan to the casual will enjoy this story. It might be a bit to technical for the non race fan, but Jade doesn't over do it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who remembers the waning glory days of open wheel racing in this country. Indy car race today is some of the most competitive in the world, but a spec series, I say we need to go back to "run what you brung"

The broad facts are well known; in an attempt to make production-based, pushrod-actuated, two-valve-per-cylinder engines competitive against purpose-built DOHC multivalve engines, the "stock blocks" were allowed both a greater capacity and higher turbo pressure.They were fast, but fragile. So the requirement to use a production block was dropped. This allowed Ilmor, Penske's long-time engine partner, to build a clean-sheet design. Still a two-valve pushrod arrangement, but with optimised design and the best racing engine technology of the time.But the broad facts are only a tiny tiny part of the whole story, which runs far deeper than I had ever imagined, and is told beautifully here; not only the engine and how it came to be, but the massive human effort behind it, and even the backgrounds of the people involved. Yet the author has managed to tell the story in a most engaging way; this is no mere almanac, no dry tome of reference information. You absolutely do not need to be a petrolhead, or gearhead, to enjoy this.And it does indeed bust the myths, many of which I had taken as gospel and some of which persist even now. For example;-It was NOT a 'loophole' engine; the rules had been crafted to specifically allow clean-sheet pushrod engine designs.-Ilmor was not the only outfit to attempt a purpose built pushrod engine.-Sanctioning body USAC knew about the engine well up front.-Despite the engine ultimately carrying their name, Mercedes-Benz involvement was practically zero.Really though, if you have even a passing interest in the Indy 500, or motor racing in general, you should read this. It's that good.

This is a story that just HAD to be told! I had the privilege of being on the UK side of this historic project at ILMOR and Jade has recaptured the magic that we all felt about it. He has also managed to tell it in such a way that will captivate anyone who likes a suspenseful tale, or who is looking for an object lesson in how to become the best in an environment where 'second best' is of no consequence.I suppose Jade could have made some of this stuff up - but then it would have been a work of fiction. I know he didn't and it isn't - and that is why I read 'BEAST' with an almost permanent grin on my face!'Le Mans 66' was a great movie. 'Indy 94' would be equally compelling!

Brilliant book.These guys are another level when it comes to building engines.At times,mind boggling.If you like engines read this you wont be dissapointed.

Excellent account of a programme which had all too short a life, mostly due to its success. Lots of technical and development detail in this. Also includes lots of 'side stories' about issues and events related to this engine project which also fascinate.

Jade Gurss has written an excellent account of the Design, development, testing and the race of an unusual engine. I was a member of the ILMOR staff at the time and he has distilled an enormous amount of information into a very readable book, which gives by far the best account of the history of this engine. To have achieved this in the time he has, shows a considerable capacity for work and an incisive mind, coupled with considerable writing ability. He is to be congratulated.