Just wondering what the general consensus on great books on performance driving/tracking/racing/etc. is?

Looking for a couple of things to throw on my Christmas list. :)

Thanks gang.

How about the fast and the furious video. hehe j/k i'm not to familiar with performance oriented books, but from what i could find on the web Bob Bondurant's book on High Performance Driving, fourth edition might seem like a good read. btw i the book retails for under 20 bucks.

A good book that is dedicated to autocross and time trials is:
Secrets of Solo Racing by Henry Watts

I always bring it to all my autocross events that I attend.
Jason

i second 318power's recommendation.

Here's some of my list:

Handling:
Fred Puhn - "How to Make Your Car Handle"
Carroll Smith - "Engineer in Your Pocket"
Milliken & Milliken - "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics"
Gillespie - "Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics"

Driving:
Lopez - "Going Faster"
Bentley - "Inner Speed Secrets"
Bentley - "Speed Secrets"
Smith - "Drive to Win"
Code - "A Twist of the Wrist"
Code - "A Twist of the Wrist II"
Alexander - "Think to Win"
Watts - "Secrets of Solo Racing"
Johnson - "Driving in Competition"

Miscellaneous:
Galwey - "The Inner Game of Tennis"
Smith - "Tune to Win"
Smith - "Engineer to Win"
Smith - "Prepare to Win"

Jim

I just started reading "Going Faster!" the skip barger racing school book. I'm only a 1/4 of the way through and I already have a better understanding of corner entry and exit physics. If the rest of the book goes this well, I'll be rereading it.

I've also heard "Inner Speed Secrets" is good. That'll be my next reading.

Jim: The Inner Game of Tennis? does that help?

Yup.

Jim

The Feynman Lectures on Physics
The Berkeley Physics Series, V1 on mechanics
Going Faster! (Skip Barber/Lopez)
High Performance Driving (Bondurant/Blakemore)

First two will teach you first principals of car statics/dynamics. Second two teach driving. Take the racing school from the latter two, read all the books and you're in hog heaven. Barber book is better in the info/completeness sense, though the Bondurant book is entertaining/folksy. God I miss Feynman...