Part travel log, part history lesson, part social commentary, sometimes frustrating, always thought provoking, and ultimately an awesome read, Top Fuel Wormhole; The Cole Coonce Drag Strip Reader is one of the most challenging and interesting books on any form of racing, drag or otherwise, we have read in some time.

If you have read Hot Rod, Drag Racing Online, the old Super Stock and Drag Illustrated or any number of drag specific mags, you’re read Coonce. This book, aside from all the new and fresh content in it, contains magazine stories that Coonce wrote some time ago and has reprinted them here in this book. They are all as memorable now (A personal favorite is, “Who’s Afriad of Arley Langlo?”) as they were when they first appears in the magazines.

Coonce covers a lot of ground in this book and really does a good job of showing how quickly the nostalgia front-engine Top Fuel cars became big. Its beginnings are fun to see. It provided an environment of fun, some experimental opportunity, and no corporate BS for teams who wanted to burn nitro and go fast.

So what’s the catch you ask?

Coonce really likes the English language and if you are not comfortable with big words, veering off the typical straight ahead race reporting junk, and being forced to think and possibly even get a little heated when reading the book, then leave this on the shelf.

This is the most unique and thought provoking drag racing book we have read in 10 years, if ever. We say that even though we had to hit the thesaurus a couple times to figure out what the hell the guy was saying. The forward is written by Robert Post and it’s clear from the get-go that the not one punch will by pulled. None are.

The book is available from www.kerosenebomb.com