Driven To Crime: True stories of wrongdoing in motor racing

The Best! A must for anyone into car racing (all types, any era) & "true crime". Tons of detail I'd never heard about on the stories I was already familiar with. And never, ever heard at all about the rest! Covers a lot of criminal activity regarding people still in NASCA, F1, INDY, IMSA. Also shows the interesting intersection between inflated ego/insecurity/greed and racing. Read with another racing friend and have great discussions about the chicken and the egg (or more like the chicken vs. the egg).Some of these people are the same kind of pure sociopaths that can steal all the money from an elementary school teacher pension fund, and their only thought is, "how can I do the same thing to the middle school?" The kind of white collar criminals we hear about all the time – who just don't happen to get into professional racing.It's a very journalistic, non-fiction style, very straightforward and with incredible eye to detail. Could have been a more fun read with a bit more humor, or subtext.The book is 500 pages but made up of profiles of 66 different profiles, all independent of each other, so you can read it like a book of collected short stories. Start at the middle and take a left or a right turn whenever you want.

This Is a fantastic, engrossing read about the criminal element that has touched Motorsport. Well researched and highly readable, it shines a light on the sometimes dark corners of racing. Highly recommended.

Very good,well writen, very entertaining.

I’ve never read anything like it, an extraordinary book of wrongdoing in the world of motor racing. The writing is flawless, the research meticulous. This book should become a classic and essential reading, not just for those taking part in this ludicrously expensive pursuit, but to all those interested in a totally honest, no holds barred insight into the world of such pervasive crime.Much of the time I could not believe what I was reading; the scams, the drugs, the vast fortunes built and lost; the deceit, the fraud, the double dealing and the burning ambition to get involved - at any cost. The world of motor racing can be brutal. Crispian Besley must have taken many years and had countless brushes with the legal complexities of the system before producing this staggeringly good book.I briefly entered the world of motor racing in 1974 (see Sid Miller Chapter 41) and thought my experience bizarre enough. But it was the tip of an iceberg. There’s no doubt that Crispian’s book is a tough read, sometimes depressing, often crushing our idols; people and sportsmen we looked up to. Whether you have been involved in the sport or not, it is a window on the human condition that is rarely demonstrated with such honesty and clarity.Every chapter is jaw-dropping. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Well-written. It’s just what you want for a read while on a vacation to the beach this summer! Interesting subject matter, sort of light on high crimes and heavier on white-collar offenses, but the reader learns a lot.