+2 The Last Lap: on racing, on family, on deadly ambition
The Last Lap: on racing, on family, on deadly ambition
The Last Lap: on racing, on family, on deadly ambition
The Last Lap: on racing, on family, on deadly ambition
The Last Lap: on racing, on family, on deadly ambition
More than the memorial his father had built for him, it’s Pete Kreis’ cousin’s book ‘The Last Lap’ that will keep the memory of the fallen Indianapolis 500-star alive.
Pete Kreis’ fatal accident during a test run ahead of the 1934 Indianapolis 500 was considered ‘the strangest death in all of racing history’ at the time. The Tennessee star’s Miller front-wheel drive roadster had mysteriously left the ideal line in Turn One at the Brickyard, climbed the wall and after surfing it at uninterrupted speed, cleared the wall. It destroyed itself against a tree, the impact killing both Pete Kreis and his young riding mechanic, Bob Hahn. No one ever could make sense of why the accident happened.
Knoxville marble
Kreis’ father John, a rich entrepreneur, had a monument made out of the purest marble from his quarries near Knoxville, to keep the memory of his fallen youngest son alive. It’s here the story started for William Walker, a distant cousin of Pete Kreis. Years, decades even, of fascination with the Kreis myth, finally led to a book.
‘The Last Lap’ is much more than a book on twenties and thirties oval racing on wooden race tracks. It’s a story on a family of Swiss descent that settled in the South in the early 1800s. A beautiful story on a family that grew prosperous through hard work and sheer determination. Barely ten years after Pete Kreis’ death, no more Kreis men would be alive.
Indy horrors
It’s the search for the Kreis’ family history, it’s all the digging through period newspaper articles and photographs, and finally, it’s William Walker’s conclusion on what really happened that makes The Last Lap a compelling read. Actually, the parts where he brings in more recent and dark moments in Indy’s history, are the least convincing as they do not fit in strictly with his story. Indianapolis in the twenties and thirties was already a perilous place, I’m not entirely sure if the Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs crash from 1964 adds much to this tale. But one does get a fairly complete overview of all the horror that happened at Indy over the years.
For many of us, Pete Kreis is a name that no longer rings a bell. Many times a contestant, but never a winner. The Last Lap shows us that there are fascinating stories attached to probably each name on the participant’s list, especially in the early, pioneering years at Indy.
Voice-over
For some reason, I found the getting started part the hardest about this book. Is it the wording, is it the focus on death, is it me and my inability to get going on what seems like a very old story? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter, because once I got past the intro on the first twenty pages, The Last Lap became almost impossible to put down. I loved the author’s observations about life, about himself and his own life. I loved the way he found a way where you hear his voice talking over your shoulder as you read the words. You are pulled in, and you want to hear more from this source.
Worthwile
This is a book that will bring you an intimate knowledge of a driver that used to be a star in his day, but was forgotten over time. Pete Kreis, first a Duesenberg driver and then a Miller man, could/might have won the 1926 Indianapolis 500, only he didn’t. And never again would such an opportunity present itself. Kreis’ unrelenting quest for Indy glory is beautifully described. And whilst we would agree with author William Walker’s own final assessment that his decades-long search in the history of an old and distant relative did not leave him with the glorious portrait of a hero he had hoped to paint, ‘The Last Lap’ is nonetheless a very worthwhile book.
More than just a racer’s biography, The Last Lap embarks on an intriguing tour bringing to life the Kreis family and how they made their mark in Knoxville, Tennessee. They were all stand-out characters. Maybe the most compelling aspect of Walker’s book is him implying at times there is a massive toll for limitless ambition and the desire to prove man’s stamina against ‘the elements’. This is a profoundly human book, probably best summed up as the ultimate testimony that nothing lasts forever.
Hard- and softcover available
The Last Lap is an entertaining read, even if the author decided to copy the gruesome descriptions of accidents and their consequences, as was the custom in twenties and thirties media reports. The picture of twenties racing on the wooden oval tracks and at the Brickyard continues to be fascinating material to read.
In its handy softcover format (there is a hardcover as well), the 292 pages will speed up your holiday by the pool considerably. The Last Lap is much more than a book on a racing driver, it’s a story about life and about devouring ambitions. Award-winning stuff from our point of view.
ISBN: 978-1-64234-142-3
Publisher: Octane Press
Pages: 292
Price: $27.95 (hardcover) / $19.95 (softcover)
