Book excerpt: This book takes the Immortals concept made famous in cricket and applies it to motorsport, choosing the best of the best from Bathurst and the Australian Touring Car Championship (now the Supercars Championship) and other local series. It delves into the careers and characteristics of icons Peter Brock, Allan Moffat and Dick Johnson along with modern-era champions such as Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup: heroes who are not just high achievers but influential identities who set a new benchmark and changed local racing forever through skill, determination and sheer will. It tells the remarkable stories behind each Immortal's rise, from the fabled tale of rock star Johnson to the little-known facts surrounding Lowndes' Bathurst arrival in 1994 that, a few hours earlier, teetered on the brink of disaster. The Immortals of Australian Motor Racing: the Local Heroes is the third instalment in Gelding Street Press's Immortals of Australian Sport series. In it, motorsport writer Luke West gives readers insights into his 10 chosen immortals and their influence on the national scene.