Raoul 'Sonny' Balcaen: My Exciting True-Life Story in Motor Racing from Top-Fuel Drag-Racing Pioneer to Jim Hall, Reventlow Scarab, Carroll S Lyons Pete

Raoul 'Sonny' Balcaen grew up in Los Angeles at a time when it became the epicentre of American motor racing, nurturing a vast talent pool of people whose influence has echoed through to today.As a teenager, he successfully competed with his home-built Top Fuel dragster during the formative years of the sport. A period as Jim Hall's crew chief and a close association with Carroll Shelby added to the know-how that guided him towards becoming a successful entrepreneur and led to all that followed. With Lance Reventlow, he worked on the famous Scarab sports cars and was standing in the dyno room when the team's all-American Formula 1 engine was fired up for the first time.

His role in the fabulous Scarab sports cars -- the - Aged 17, Balcaen built his own Top Fuel drag racer, the 'Bantamweight Bomb', which he developed relentlessly and drove to many successes.