When we were informed several months ago about an upcoming book on the career of “TV” Tommy Ivo and that book was to be written by Tom Cotter, our inner drag geek got very excited. We were hoping to learn a lot more about the intimate details of Ivo’s life, mainly because we knew all the “big” stuff already. He was a pioneering force in making drag racing a “professional” venture. He was a brilliant self promoter, hard runner, and a guy who always entertained the fans. Did the book deliver the goods on the other parts of Ivo’s life and times we were wanting to learn about? It sure as hell did.
The first four chapters of the book are used to tell, in detail which we have never seen or read before, the story of Ivo’s early life, rise to fame as a child actor, and eventual exposure to hot rodding and drag racing. Cotter’s style fits our taste very well. We find Cotter to be skilled at delivering information in a way that keeps the reader from being bogged down, even when the topic may not be of primary interest (i.e. we really didn’t care a whole lot about that part of the book, but reading it was pleasurable and informative).
Chapter five, entitled, “Ivo’s Fast 31”. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Every one of the cars that Ivo raced from the Buick he bought brand new in the early 1950s to his final tour in the “Wagonmaster” four engine car in 1982 is documented. That documentation is not done in some dry, nuts and bolts manner. Instead, Ivo tells stories, gives impressions, and shares memories of each and every one. The story of his racing life hinges on all these cars and Ivo done a fantastic job of giving readers the inside dope on all of them.
In what may seem like a backhaded compliment (but isn’t!), Cotter does an awesome job of staying out of the way. The book really is kind of a one way conversation with Tom Ivo and that’s why we really liked it and connected with it. Ivo certainly comes off as the amazingly nice guy that everyone verified that he is, but he is also frank and honest, too. Sharing details about marriges that didn’t make it, or how he was just about gassed on drag racing in the mid-1970s adds another element to our appreciation of Ivo, the human one.
The photos and sidebar stories of practical jokes, some funny, and some amazingly dangerous are welcome additions to the book and are timed and added in a way that doesn’t force the reader to abandon the story to jump into one. You can navigate the book easily and if you wanted to, this book could be jammed through in a long trans-continental flight. We savored every page, for the information, photos, and stories that only Tom Ivo could have provided.
This book is 100% BangShift approved!
The book publishes TODAY – Order your copy HERE
