Out of the love for his grandfather, Mike Dreyer wrote this biography on Floyd "Pop" Dreyer. He researched to see if the stories about his grandfather were true or just exaggerations. He found out many stories were understated. Floyd Dreyer was inducted into Knoxville's National Sprint Car hall of Fame and Indianapolis' National Midget Hall of Fame. From the humble beginnings of his life in rural Ohio, through his young manhood and his all-out effort to become a famous motorcycle racer, all the way to his days as one of the nation's premier race car builders and a successful business entrepreneur, Mike Dreyer tells the story of his grandfather Floyd "Pop" Dreyer's colorful, adventuresome life.
Written from Pop's perspective, this story gives you the feeling of really being there as it happened. See how the youngster transferred his ideal of becoming a rodeo cowboy from horseback to a motorcycle, when he rides his brother's cycle for the first time. You'll learn the heartaches he faced as a young father trying to raise children alone.
The events that spurred him to leave Ohio, as well as how he landed, quite by accident, in Indianapolis, are fully detailed. You'll come to know his every trick of riding the fast and deadly motorcycles, where he excelled and earned his first racing fame.
You'll meet his friends, rivals, mechanics and hustling promoters. Follow with amazemant his cutting edge expertise as a racing car builder and fabricator. Read how he was one of the last sprint car owners to build his own machine, engine and all, from the ground up.
Discover the amazing facts and many outstanding breakthroughs in racing technology pioneered by Pop's small Dreyer Racing Equipment Company, which caused builders like Frank Kurtis to look upon him with awe and admiration. You'll come to know some of his drivers. How they lived and drove with such daring and skill, at a time when death was lurking behind every splintered fence, around every dusty curve.
Come to understand why Pop finally got out of racing to become one of the Midwest's most successful seller of motorcycles. And how his mechanical ability and fabrication techniques changed what motorcyclists ride today. See how the youngster transferred his ideal of becoming a rodeo cowboy from horseback to a motorcycle, when he rides his brother's cycle for the first time. Get set for a thrilling ride from start to finish. This is the real story on Pop Dreyer from the guy who loved it, as ably retold by one who knew him best.