this kid grew up, to write a book about racing helmets and run a car auction company

His 660 page two-volume set called The Art of Racing: Helmets is about helmets worn by famous and less-famous race car drivers, some of which are rather plain, and some are artistic masterpieces.

The Art of Racing: Helmets is co-authored—or co-curated, according to the book’s cover—by Ronald Stern, a noted helmet collector

a driver’s helmet may well be more recognizable than their likeness. 

Watch a race for minutes or hours and you may see the driver’s face for only moments, and that’s only if they do very well. The rest of the time, you’re looking at the racer’s helmet.

“It was a three-and-a-half-year project,” Twyman said. Though these are helmets—properly worn helmets, Twyman stressed, not copies, not promotional versions—from significant winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500, the Mille Miglia, and the Targa Florio, the subject is overwhelmingly Formula 1. “My aspiration was to get an example from every single world champion, which initially seemed like a big task, but we achieved that. And then I wondered how far we could go beyond that. What about grand prix winners?”

The plan was for a single book, “but it became quite apparent we needed two volumes, so we created a split,” ending the first book around 1979, with the second volume covering this modern era, through 2024.

Many of the helmets came from institutions such as the Swiss Museum of Transport, as well as private collections of motorsports enthusiasts such at McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automobilia/the-art-of-racing-helmets-lifts-the-visor-on-racings-fastest-art-form

There are 300 “standard, slip-cased” sets for about $600, plus shipping, and there are 50 leather-bound editions that are numbered and signed for about 2k

https://www.magnetomagazine.com/product/the-art-of-racing-helmets

https://www.octane-magazine.com/product/the-art-of-racing-helmets/