In 1898, one of the first automobiles set a land speed record of 39 mph. Back then, few would have guessed that one day a vehicle would go faster than the speed of sound. Yet ever since then, race car drivers have had a strong need for speed, and automakers have designed their cars to go faster and faster. Readers will eagerly learn all about the competitive world of land speed racing in "The Need for Speed". Featuring stunning full-color photographs and exciting, readable text, this book highlights the amazing speed machines and their intrepid drivers who compete on racecourses ranging from a desert in Nevada to a dry lakebed in Australia in an effort to claim the world land speed record....

Even as a boy, Mark Martin loved going fast. First he rode a bike, then a motorcycle, and finally a race car that his father helped build for him - all by the time he was 15. Martin began racing on dirt tracks in his native Arkansas, moved on to asphalt racing, and never looked back. He has met with technical challenges, survived automobile crashes, and overcome personal tragedy. This new biography highlights Martin's more-than-30 memorable years as a race car driver. Featuring a reader-friendly full-color format, Mark Martin thoroughly illustrates how skill and determination have made the man known as "Mr. Consistency" one of the top NASCAR drivers in the history of the sport....