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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 796.72 EAN: 9780345499882 ISBN: 0345499883 Label: Villard Manufacturer: Villard Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 320 Publication Date: February 12, 2008 Publisher: Villard Release Date: February 12, 2008 Studio: Villard Editorial Review: Product Description: From its raw beginnings on Southern dirt tracks, NASCAR smacked of a slightly depraved spectacle, as if nothing but trouble could come from the unbridled locomotion of a V8 engine. By the time NASCAR roared into the twenty-first century, it had grown into a billion-dollar sports and marketing colossus, its races attended by hundreds of thousands of fans on any given weekend from mid-February through mid-November, watched on television by the second-largest viewing audience in sports, and bankrolled by the marketing largesse of the Fortune 500’s elite. One Helluva Ride, a full-throttle account of the rise and reign of NASCAR nation, is award-winning motorsports reporter Liz Clarke’s chronicle of how stock car racing exploded from regional obsession to national phenomenon. In covering the sport for more than fifteen years, Clarke has developed a strong rapport with NASCAR’s drivers, team owners, and hard-core fans. Through her reporting and analysis, we get to know the public and private sides of NASCAR’s most iconic figures, including seven-time champion Richard Petty, who set the standard for treating fans with respect, and the late Dale Earnhardt, whose brazen, bullying tactics wreaked havoc on the track, but whose heart was as big as Daytona’s infield. The sports world stopped in its tracks the day Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Some feared that NASCAR’s soul would die with him. But it has raced on, steered by visionary promoters, the all-controlling France family (who founded the sport), and, above all, the next generation of drivers to stir fans’ passions: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., son of the NASCAR legend and now, like his father before him, the circuit’s most popular driver; Jeff Gordon, the beloved but oft-maligned outsider, bred from the cradle to be NASCAR’s winningest modern champion; and Kasey Kahne, a reluctant heartthrob whose confidence derives entirely from an accelerator pedal. Clarke also brings us inside NASCAR’s most triumphant and tragic dynasties: the Pettys, the Earnhardts, and the Allisons–and reveals how faith, family, and a deep-seated love of their sport helps them cope with grief and loss. Clarke shows NASCAR to be at a crossroads. In pursuit of a broader audience, NASCAR has severed its sponsorship ties to Big Tobacco, abandoned racetracks in small markets in favor of speedways near glitzy major cities, and welcomed Japan’s Toyota into a sport traditionally restricted to American-made sedans. As NASCAR races toward mass appeal, some suggest it is leaving its roots behind. To others, it is boldly extending its reach from the Southern workingman to every man, woman, and child in the world. Whether you’re one of the die-hard NASCAR faithful or just a casual follower, nobody brings you closer to the sport and business of big-time stock car racing than Liz Clarke. This book, like the phenomenon it profiles, really is One Helluva Ride. Average Rating:
 Rating: - Entertaining and informativeThis book is a rare combination of entertainment and information woven into a fast-paced narrative. The author is an experienced newspaper sportswriter, and that background gives her writing a pace and focus that perfectly fits the subject matter. NASCAR's history is complicated; it is unique in American sports because it is wholly owned by a single family, the Frances. The actual racers are, in effect, independent contractors who perform day labor at the various racetracks that the ... Read More Rating: - great, fun race storiesIf you'd like to learn about the history of racing but want it on a more personal level, this is the book for you to read. Rating: - Great RideLove the book, gives just enough history of the sport and enough current information mixed in with fun stories about the past and present drivers. Rating: - Best NASCAR book ever pennedA must for all fans of NASCAR, whether casual or hard-core. This book traces the sport through the lens of a witty, sophisticated, Springsteen-loving, private-school-educated woman. Liz Clarke is hardly your average NASCAR writer, and this is far from your average NASCAR book. The brilliant character studies here of champions like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt show Clarke's resolve to part NASCAR's curtain and reveal the men who made the sport so much more than simply turning left. Read it and you ... Read More Rating: - One Helluva PleasureI'm delighted with the book and had a great "ride" reading it. I recommend it to anyone who is a newbie to NASCAR (like I am) or has enjoyed it's growth. |
