After a tragic accident driving down the backroads of East Tennessee, Knoxville native Pete Kreis looked to pursue his dream of becoming a champion of the Indianapolis 500. Starting his career in the late 1920's, Pete became one of the hottest young drivers in the circuit, even having strong showings at Formula 1's European Grand Prix at Monza. However, a developing reputation of being a hard-luck driver combined with the Great Depression and Indy Car's new "junk formula", Pete struggled to find a ride. After finally capturing one, Pete tragically crashed in turn 1 of his first lap of qualifying at the Indy 500, killing himself and his riding mechanic. This week, author William Walker will sit down with us and talk about his book, The Last Lap, that delves into the mystery surrounding the death of Kreis. Was it suicide? Was it a freak accident? Was it due to paralysis from PTSD? William Walker will sit down with us, and discuss these things in much more in today's very special episode.

This episode's resources:

The Last Lap by William Walker

https://octanepress.com/book/last-lap-death-drive-pete-kreis-indy-500-william-walker?srsltid=AfmBOoq1vRikIsyQ3mmngfXcYX6kvL1S9qKpJTVNSqGErY1rBFO510be

Also, check out Bill's other book,

Betrayal at Little Gibraltar

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Betrayal-at-Little-Gibraltar/William-Walker/9781501117916

Thanks for listening!

Theme to A Deadman's Books: Surfing! by automaticbananas

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