Review: King of Europe

2nd March: One of the most anticipated events of the 2008-2009 off season was the release of Andy Carter and Eurodragster.com sponsor Dan Welberry's book King of Europe, which charts the career of the three-time FIA European Top Fuel Dragster Champion. Although we did not have to wait too long for King of Europe, that wait was worth it.

Andy's sponsor Pioneer Print have done a very good job on the production of the book. In a word, it screams "quality". The weighty hardback is A4 sized and runs to nearly two hundred pages, all in full colour.

The book opens with seven forewords, including two contributed by Eurodragster.com staff members Roger and Tog. A common theme of the forewords is Andy's strength of character and determination, setting the scene for the chapters to come. Andy and Dan's dedications follow and then a very well-presented introduction to Top Fuel drag racing. The context having been set, we then move on to Andy's story in eleven chapters.

For your reviewer and probably for many readers the most informative chapter will be the second, The Early Years, which covers Andy's first steps in Outlaw Anglia and then his early days in Top Fuel Dragster in the Herforder Pils and Dashmaster cars - the former carrying a decal reading "My other car's a Lada" whilst his sponsor-supplied Lada carried a similar sticker only the other way round. Unfortunately Andy didn't have room to relate the "Your other car may be a Top Fuel Dragster, but you park like..." story; ask Andy to tell you that one next time you're passing his pit. Andy's first attempt to race in the USA is passed over in a few paragraphs but the salient points are there and that was likely genuinely all there was to be said about it. Chapter 2 is also of particular interest since it features a lot of previously-unseen photographs from Andy's early Top Fuel career.

Throughout the book Dan has done a very good job indeed of relating Andy's career in an interesting fashion. It would be very easy to fall into a plain recitative of how each race went with the ETs and speeds and then on to the next race, but Dan has included a lot of the kitchen detail and background which all fans love to read. Not just Dan, either. "Spin doctor" is not a pair of words you will ever see sharing a sentence with Andy's name, so his contributions are presented pretty much as unedited Carter Original: so much so that in places you can hear Andy talking as you read it. Like just about every racer we know, Andy never forgets any race he loses but again it is the off-track stories which are of particular interest...don't miss Andy's account of the legendary Portaloo Incident.

When we first heard about King of Europe the book was to be a pictorial. At the start of the project Andy and Dan approached many of Europe's leading drag racing photographers and must have ended up pretty much spoilt for choice. From the front cover - the main shot provided by Eurodragster.com Photo Editor Roger Gorringe - to the back cover the book is packed with photographs, several to a page and all in full colour. The photo coverage is remarkably wide, featuring not just the standard burnout and launch shots but pictures from all angles, on- and off-track. We have quite often said on Eurodragster.com that the first person to turn their back on the racing and take people shots will coin it, and an added bonus in this book is the number of candid shots of Andy and his crew some of which give a real insight into an obviously close-knit team.

King of Europe was put together in a relatively short space of time but the book shows very little sign of being rushed. The page design is very easy on the eye and the primary font is very easy to read. A few typos have got through but this is inevitable given the amount of text: however, given photo-journalist and honorary Eurodragster.com staff member Andy Willsheer's particularly fine sense of humour we would not be surprised if he should file a report this year about a Top Fuel racer named Andy Crater.

King of Europe will suit anyone who is into drag racing. If you have any interest at all in what it takes to go Top Fuel drag racing and to win Championships then King of Europe is the ideal read. If you just like to look at drag racing pictures then King of Europe is similarly the book for you.

King of Europe costs £20 and is available at any of Andy's race dates or personal appearances, and it can also be bought for £20 plus £4.99 p+p from Andy's web site at www.andycarter.net.

Tog, News Editor - Eurodragster.com
©Eurodragster.com

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