Mark Perzel
28 February 2025
50m 22s
Elizabeth Blackstock & Alanis King: Racing With Rich Energy
00:00
50:22
Best Part of the Book
Mark Perzel hosts a conversation with Elizabeth Blackstock and Alanis King about their book, "Racing with Rich Energy." Delve into the wild world of Formula One racing and its intersection with a controversial energy drink company. The authors, drawn to motorsports through vastly different paths, share how they uncovered the questionable dealings of Rich Energy's enigmatic CEO, William Storey, and his audacious attempt to disrupt the established Formula One order. Hear the financial intricacies of the sport, the behind-the-scenes drama, and the challenges of investigating a story filled with evasive characters and disappearing evidence.
LISTENER DISCOUNT CODE: BESTPART
Receive a 25% discount on this title when purchased from McFarland's website by using the code BESTPART at checkout: mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy
FEATURED TITLE & DESCRIPTION
"Racing with Rich Energy: How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride." McFarland, softcover (2022) ISBN: 9781476688800 mcfarlandbooks.com/product/racing-with-rich-energy
Formula One has long maintained a glitzy aura that masks dark and strange goings-on in the background. But with the 2019 season came a force louder than Formula One could dream of muffling: William Storey, the founder of British energy drink startup Rich Energy. Storey became a multimillion-dollar sponsor of the Haas Formula One team a year after records showed Rich Energy having a mere $770 in the bank. He equated his doubters to moon-landing truthers and publicly mocked both the Haas team and the entities winning legal disputes against him. But where were actual cans of Rich Energy, and did the supposed sponsorship funds exist? In the six months between Storey’s first race as a Formula One sponsor and his very public exit, he stole the spotlight with a loud mouth and an active Twitter account. Haas team boss Guenther Steiner once described the Rich Energy news cycle as: “I’m getting sick of answering these stupid fucking questions on a race weekend. I’ve never seen any fucking thing like this.” No one else had, either. This book uncovers the complete, bizarre story.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ELIZABETH BLACKSTOCK is an award-winning motorsport historian, author, and journalist currently serving as US Editor at PlanetF1.com. She is creator and host of "Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys," a history podcast that centers on motorsport's forgotten scandals and tragedies.
www.deadlypassionsterriblejoys.com
@elizablackstock on Instagram
@eliz_blackstock on X
@elizablackstock.bsky.social on Bluesky
ALANIS KING is an automotive and motorsports writer, reporter, presenter, YouTuber, and podcaster. You can find her work in ESPN, Top Gear, Road & Track, the Motorsport Network, and more.
@alanisking on Youtube
@alanisnking on Twitter
@alanisnking on Instagram
@alanisnking.bsky.social on Bluesky
@alanis.king.1 on Facebook
ABOUT MCFARLAND
McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and general-interest nonfiction books, is perhaps best known for the serious treatment of popular culture. Founded in 1979, McFarland is recognized among authors and readers as adventurous in range and a reliable source of worthy books that other publishers overlook. They have about 8000 unique works for sale and each year publish about 350 new titles. Meeting high library standards has been a major focus since the company began, and many McFarland books have received awards from the academic-oriented (Choice Outstanding Academic Title, ALA Outstanding Reference Work) to the mainstream (Hugo, Edgar, Stoker, and Eisner, among others). www.McFarlandBooks.com
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