Sam Posey raced a huge variety of sports cars, saloons and open-wheel machines in numerous racing arenas — Can-Am, USRRC, Trans-Am, IMSA, Indy, NASCAR, Formula 5000 and Formula 1 — against rivals and friends such as George Follmer, Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue, Peter Revson, Dan Gurney, David Hobbs and Brian Redman.
Sam’s Scrapbook gives a first-hand account of a romantic era in racing, through pictures no one has seen and stories no one has heard. Running alongside the images, Posey’s commentary is fascinating and thoughtful, and in turns both amusing and emotional.
- Sam’s early days: racing around his mother’s house on a farm in Connecticut against his friend John Whitman.
- The start of his career: driving at Lime Rock, his local track, under the mentorship of John Fitch; a ride as the then-youngest American at Le Mans, with a Bizzarrini in 1966.
- Can-Am: racing against John Surtees, Bruce McLaren and Jim Hall in this famous “anything goes” sports car championship with a car he and Ray Caldwell designed and built.
- Trans-Am: competing in this spectacular saloon series during its golden age, first for Roger Penske and then as a factory driver for Dodge, against George Follmer, Parnelli Jones and Swede Savage.
- Later years at Le Mans: finishing third overall in a Ferrari 512 M with the North American Racing Team (NART) team in 1971; driving the first BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Art Car’ in 1975, featuring a paint scheme by American sculptor Alexander Calder.
- Open-wheel racing: a duel with Dan Gurney in the USAC Championship, finishing fifth at Indy in 1972; two drives for John Surtees in Formula 1; battling his friend and rival David Hobbs on the track and off in Formula 5000.
- Even more variety: three years of off-road adventures in the Baja 1000; rides with the BMW factory team at Sebring and Daytona; and his late career in the IMSA championship with actor Paul Newman and Brian Redman.
This is an unusual and engaging memoir by one of America’s best-loved racing heroes and will appeal to all motorsports enthusiasts.
Sam Posey’s racing endeavors spanned seventeen seasons, 1965–81, and included a famous victory in 1975 with BMW in the 12 Hours of Sebring. His second career as a TV commentator began at the 1974 Indy 500 and lasted for over 40 years, embracing spells with both ABC and NBC. He has written three books: Where the Writer Meets the Road (2015), Playing with Trains (2004), and the autobiographical The Mudge Pond Express (1976). He also coauthored Sam's Scrapbook (2021) with his son John. The front straight at Lime Rock Park—his local race circuit in Connecticut—is named after him, and in 2016 he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He resides in Connecticut.
