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The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR (or, How a Bunch of Good Ol' Boys Built a Billion-Dollar Industry out of Wrecking... |
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The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR (or, How a Bunch of Good Ol' Boys Built a Billion-Dollar Industry out of Wrecking...
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by Joe Menzer
Sales Rank: 306683
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$0.37
At Amazon
on 6-22-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 336 pages
Published by: Simon & Schuster May 7, 2002
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0743226259
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743226257
Book Dimensions:
8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 12.8 ounces
Product Review
In The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR, Joe Menzer traces the vivid history of stock car racing from when bootleggers drove hopped-up cars to outrun the law for fun and profit to the present racing frenzy that has thrust NASCAR to the front of the pack as one of America's fastest-growing sports industries.
The result of Menzer's research is not dry prose filled with racing statistics but rather a loose chronology of anecdotes that reads like an oral history. Legendary finishes, rivalries, and rags-to-riches success stories are championed here, including the exploits of Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner (both on and off the track) and the personalities of David Pearson, Bill Elliott, and the Petty family. Menzer does not back off from the low points either, from Wendell Scott's experience as the first African American driver to the unhealthy mix of stock cars and alcohol (often at the same time).
Despite the conversational tone, Menzer never loses sight of the politics, sponsorship, and fan-base issues that have arisen, especially as faster cars and tracks began to be built in the 1950s and '60s. As driver Jimmy Thompson assessed the new Daytona International Speedway in 1959: "There have been other tracks that separated the men from the boys. This is the track that will separate the brave from the weak after the boys are gone." --Michael Ferch
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
This insightful, energetic history of NASCAR, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, will delight casual and hardcore fans, who have made yearly NASCAR events a $200-million-plus industry. Menzer (Carolina Panthers), a sports writer for the Winston-Salem Journal, details early stock-car racing from its birth in 1930s North Carolina, "where moonshine runners took great pleasure in trying to outrun federal agents from the Internal Revenue Service." The second half divulges insider information since 1960, via anecdotes and interviews with such current NASCAR legends as the late Dale Earnhardt and past champions like Junior Johnson, whose career "from moonshine runner to champion driver to successful car owner" personifies NASCAR's evolution. But this is no puff piece. Through colorful interviews, the drivers reveal that "there was cheating going on from day one"; in the 1950s and '60s "there was a lot of drug use in racing"; and many drivers are still haphazard about safety standards. Most interesting, Menzer illuminates the story of Wendell Scott, the first African-American driver in the early 1960s, when "NASCAR was a white man's sport and there was little or no sympathy for Scott when his NASCAR efforts met with resistance." This is an excellent, broad-ranging account of the fastest-growing sport in America. Agent, Shari Wenk. (July)Forecast: With NASCAR's huge popularity and Fox-TV's billion-dollar contract starting in 2002 (on top of NBC's coverage), this should be a smash hit.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR (or How a Bunch of Good Ol' Boys Built a Billion-Dollar Industry out of Wrecking Cars) (Hardcover)
Review Summary: Those who love candid stories about the origins of stock car racing will have a ball with this behind-the-scenes view of NASCAR racing. The book opens with bumper bumping at Bristol. Most of the original top drivers drove moonshine as their main job before moving to NASCAR, and some stars were still running moonshine whiskey in their spare time into the 1950s. There are unbelievable tales of famous drivers running totally drunk, and rumors of drugs in the 1950s and 1960s. The human drama also includes the sad and untimely deaths of stars like Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in February and of young Adam Petty running over his crew chief, Chris Bradley, in a pit stop accident. Most of the information from the last twenty years will be known to NASCAR fans. The earlier material will not be, and will make this book a joy. So race right on down to get your copy! Review: No big-time sport has more recent and rough-and-tumble origins than NASCAR does. Stock car racing's humble beginnings are part of its charm. Unlike other big-league sports, this one continues to have a connection to the ordinary fan who sees the drivers as being like him or her. It's unfortunate that such an exciting sport should be conveyed in a book. That's like reading about making love. I hope the author will consider making a video version of the book that can contain wonderful racing footage. For the most part, you'll have to use your mental images of racing to capture all of the excitement of what is being described here. Having had two sons who were addicted to the Dukes of Hazzard, I was pleased to see that The Wildest Ride contained lots of information about the moonshine running days of the racers. During Prohibition and even later (as liquor taxes rose), running moonshine whiskey was often the best paying job available. But you needed a fast car and the ability to drive fast enough to outrun the "revenuers" as the IRS was called. Since the revenuers could only go 95, that wasn't too tough. Apparently, only about one run in a thousand would include any real risk of being apprehended. The local sheriffs liked to get in on the action because they got up to half of the value of the car that the moonshine was being transported in. After the run was over, there was plenty of time to race the cars for fun . . . or even a little wager. The book contains lots of colorful (and often controversial) stories about all of the legendary early drivers on the circuit. You will also find out how the sport built up from dirt ovals to Indy-like tracks and stands. So why is the sport so popular? Mr. Menzer offers several suggestions. The one I found most credible was "the sound . . . the noise . . . the dirt . . . the roar . . . the furor." This comparison also worked well, "like watching a circus where the high-wire acrobats operate without a net." On the other hand, Mr. Menzer argues that "without the ever-looming specter of wrecks, . . . the sport would lose much of its appeal . . . ." He also argues that the danger and Fortune 500 sponsorships mean that the drivers will be more clean-living than most other professional athletes, and so will cause fewer scandals to upset fans. He's probably right about that point, as well. He found that the drivers have lots of confidence. They agree there will be accidents . . . for other people. The book contains lots of detailed stories and interviews about each of the most famous racers, especialy the racing dynasties like Pettys. Although its not as much as you would get on a biography, for most people it will fill in gaps. You will also get a lot of information about the politics of racing especially between the iron hand of Bill France, Sr. and the drivers who were concerned about the risks of higher speeds on the new tracks. On the other hand, the safety of drivers and pit crews seems to have not been taken seriously enough. That situation appears to be changing now. Some of the stories from the early days are really hilarious, both for their facts and the way they are told. One driver was leading, but was about to run out of gas. He pulled in for a pit stop to find that his crew was celebrating his "victory" drunk on moonshine and had no gas. They had to scrounge some from another crew. By the time he was refueled, he could finish no further up than second. The book is equally candid about racist problems in the sport that black drivers have experienced, both in getting proper treatment from officials and finding sponsorship. After you have had a lot of fun with the stories in this book, think about where else a local rivalry could lead to more fun for all. For example, after the season is over most kids don't have a chance to pursue their sports. How could you help establish and support an on-going competition they could still enjoy year around? For example, could young football, baseball, basketball, and soccer players have a chance to compete on skills outside of the regular season? Have fun while you race to be the best!
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The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR (or, How a Bunch of Good Ol' Boys Built a Billion-Dollar Industry out of Wrecking...
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Price: $0.37
Updated on 6-22-2008.
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