The Driver

The riveting memoir of a life lived at the right-hand edge of the speedometer.

Alex Roy's father, while on his deathbed, hints about the notorious, utterly illegal cross-country drive from Los Angeles to New York of the 1970s, which then inspired his young son to enter the mysterious world of underground road rallies. Tantalized by the legend of the Driver—the anonymous, possibly nonexistent organizer of the world's ultimate secret race—Roy set out to become a force to be reckoned with. At speeds approaching 200 mph, he sped from London to Morocco, from Budapest to Rome, from San Francisco to Miami, in his highly modified BMW M5, culminating in a new record for the infamous Los Angeles to New York run: 32:07.

Sexy, funny, and shocking, The Driver is a never-before-told insider's look at an unbelievably fast and dangerous society that has long been off-limits to ordinary mortals.

Alexander Roy has been driving in international road rallies since 2003. He finished first in the 2006 Gumball 3000 and set a new speed record from New York to Los Angeles, making the nearly 3,000-mile drive in a staggering 32 hours and 7 minutes. When he is not on the road, he lives in New York City.