Beast: The Top Secret Ilmor-Penske Engine That Shocked the Racing World at the Indy 500

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.

A very good read if your a race fan of IndyCar's glorious golden era(the 90's). Very in depth look at the people and entities involved in Penske Racing's top secret mission to dominate the 1994 Indy 500. You'll come away from this read amazed at the measures the team took to keep the whole project under wraps.

Probably the best racing book I've read in awhile...it would have to be absolutely astounding for me to give 5 stars. Gurss writes in an easily-readable style that makes the story understandable to someone who has very little knowledge of motor racing or its politics. For my taste it was a little short on technical minutiae, but he tells the story in a way that really puts the monumental nature of the whole project into proper perspective.This really is a story that needed to be told, it was very likely the last time that such a technical coup on this level will occur at Indianapolis, and it gives quite a bit of insight as to what led us to the sorry state of Indianapolis car racing today. The worst thing about this book is that it tells a story that ultimately was the end of Indy car racing as we know it, since the kind of hard work and ingenuity that led to the creation of the Ilmor. A rather sad tale, really, but very well told.

Team Penske did the impossible. Finding a new wrinkle in USAC's rulebook Roger throws boatloads of cash and an amazing engine constructor into an effort to build an unconventional pushrod engine to dominate the Indy 500.But money doesn't guarantee success. Money, expertise and execution do. This book tells this story in an interesting way.For us CART/IndyCar fans this book will make us nostalgic. Simply because something like this could never happen today. Only Formula 1 spends this kind of money these days. Nobody is flying parts from a shop somewhere in England to Heathrow and then flying them across the Atlantic on the Concorde to be put in use for testing on virtually the same day.There are insights from the drivers and the designers, but Jade does such a good job of conveying the experience of the Penske and Ilmor Engineers and Techs that put in infinite hours rebuilding and building engines over and over again.I also kind of wonder if the Beast was one of the final straws triggering the IndyCar split. Speaking of which, I really hop Jade writes a book about that someday too.

Maybe it's because of my May birthday, but from my earliest memories, the Indy 500 has been one of the days on the sports calendar I look forward to most. And when I think back on Indy's most recent string of realglory days (alas, it ended almost 20 years ago!) certain things stand out: the mind-blowing technology, the desire to push the boundaries in the shop as well as on the track, the excitement of waiting to see if Indy and its similar-but-unique USAC rulebook would produce surprises unseen during the "normal" CART season. One such surprise was the pushrod Ilmor/Mercedes engine Team Penske rolled out for 1994. Beast tells the story behind the story, packed with juicy detail for the hardcore racing fan. I read it from the perspective of someone who remembered the public side of this story, but I think this book has what it takes to engage relative newcomers to racing, too. In the end it's a story of ingenuity, perseverance and, yeah, a bit of luck, too...that's what racing (or any sport for that matter) is ultimately about. I couldn't put it down!

A detailed look into the secret development of the Ilmor engine.

This book give us massive amounts of technical insights about the development of this wonderful and powerful engine. Moreover, the sports and political side of the series are well documented. A very worthy read!

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.

If it weren't true, this story would read like a Disney movie script. Whether or not you're into Indy Cars, this is a fascinating read of how a team of seeming underdogs from England beat the mighty US system and delivered a fairytale victory. Highly recommended.

Great story of understanding the rules, and then committing to a plan that resulting in success. So many top of the sport people in the story.