Last Lap at Reno

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

After six decades, the legendary Reno Air Races are about to become history.  The Reno Air Racing Association has declared that this September, 2023, will be the final year that the Reno-Stead Airport will host the annual races.  Their reasons include “rapid area development, public safety, and the impact on the Reno-Stead Airport and its surrounding areas.”

In other words, civilization.  Newly developed neighborhoods don’t want full-throated race planes roaring over their roofs at 500 mph.

Will the races move elsewhere?  Race fans — and the racing association — fervently hope so.  The problem is finding an airfield with space for a ten-mile-circumference race course and happens also to be close to hotels and facilities that accommodate a hundred-thousand spectators.

A very long shot.

Thus will end a classic era in aviation history.  And for this occasion the classic book about air racing, Fly Low Fly Fast: Inside the Reno Races (Viking Press) will be released again.  This book is NOT a current history of the races -- it ends with the dramatic late-90s battles between legendary pilots Tiger Destefani, Lyle Shelton, Darryl Greenamyer and their rivals -- but it chronicles the rich history of American air racing back to the post-war years at Cleveland. The new edition comes in soft cover, e-book (Kindle, Apple, Barnes&Noble) and an Audible version narrated by the author.

Fly Low Fly Fast is available at Amazon, Smashwords, and Audible.com.