Masculinity, whiteness, and technological play in dirt track automobile racing, 1924-1960
Date
2017
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
From 1924-1960, Americans spent a great deal of time and money
participating in the technology-centered hobby of dirt track automobile racing. This
dissertation examines how racing enthusiasts living in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
derived pleasure from tinkering with passenger automobile technology and watching
purpose-built racing machines compete in organized speed contests. The rising
popularity of dirt track automobile racing as a rural pastime reflected a preoccupation
with technological play and risk-taking within American culture. Participants and
spectators alike celebrated the displays of technological daring at their local
speedways, as drivers worked to avoid serious collisions in their endless quests for
speed, technological innovation, and racetrack victories. I argue that social and
cultural factors motivated racecar drivers, mechanics, and officials to develop complex
sets of rules for racecar design, the organization of racing events, and direct
participation within grassroots motorsports. By conceptualizing racecar drivers within
contemporary conversations of masculinity and whiteness, racing insiders negotiated
their personal beliefs about race, class, and gender at the speedway. Because of these
gatekeeping practices, women and men of color faced widespread exclusion from
competing in dirt track motorsports throughout much of the twentieth century.
Description
Keywords
Social sciences, Automobile racing, Automotive technology, Sports