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LEARY: Top Ten NASCAR Books
Written by: Gregg Leary   
12/18/2008
Charlotte, North Carolina
 
Gregg Leary is a Researcher/Writer for 'Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain','The SPEED Report', book reviewer and columnist for SPEEDtv.com. (SPEED Photo) ยป More Photos

Lists, lists, lists... I guess it started when we were kids... Santa’s “naughty and nice” list... grocery lists, guest lists, laundry lists and on and on to David Letterman’s famous “Top Ten” lists. As a book reviewer for SPEEDtv.com, I’m delighted to get to read and/or review dozens of great racing books. The following is my list of “Top Ten NASCAR Books.” I hope it serves as a guideline for you to start your motorsports library today. Most of these gems can be purchased on SPEEDtv.com, keyword 'Books'. Please read the complete reviews of these books if you are unsure of which ones to purchase.

10. “As They Head For the Checkers” By Kathy Persinger - With Bonus CD of actual race calls and interviews with racing’s greatest drivers, hosted by Mark Garrow

The subtitle says: Fantastic Finishes, Memorable Milestones and Heroes Remembered from the World of Racing. Persinger’s easy to read chapters are well illustrated with excellent photographs. The Bonus CD is NOT a rehash of information in the book. It does rekindle memories with actual race calls of the “Pass in the Grass” and the 1979 Daytona 500 fight where Bobby Allison tells of Cale Yarborough “beatin’ on my fist with his nose.” The book and CD are perfect for NASCAR fans who may be reluctant readers.

9. “NASCAR Off the Record” By Brock Yates - Brock Yates is an excellent writer. He incorporated stock car lore into his movie scripts for “Cannonball Run” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” Yates tells why in “Whiskey Trippin’ Beginnings” that Bill France and three others created Daytona Beach as “the epicenter of stock car racing,” but “the mother lode of talent and enthusiasm lay hundreds of miles to the north in Charlotte, North Carolina.” Yates writes that Islip’s 1/5 mile track was like “running on the rim of a china saucer,” and crew members in the middle of the
track “were forced to spin in a small circle to watch their drivers, as if they were tethering gas-powered model airplanes in flight.” Brock also has a great ear for quotes. Cale Yarborough said of Daytona, “You don’t DRIVE a car here anymore. You AIM it.” Yates is brave. He rode with LeeRoy Yarbrough at 175 MPH at Daytona without a helmet and flew with Curtis Turner. He tells of “chosen” NASCAR drivers getting “the call.” He has fun with “Pierre Debris” in a section called “The French Connection.” He is also very lucky…he wrote a very flattering chapter on Linda Vaughn

8." Bobby Allison: A Racer’s Racer.” By Bobby Allison with Tim Packman - Rusty Wallace pens in the foreword, “Bobby’s an absolute legend and is one of the most savvy drivers, hardest chargers and toughest competitors I have ever known. He is a world class racer and has been there and done it…and probably won it too.” Bobby tells of his “missing win” that NASCAR does not recognize... a win that would move him out of a third place tie with Darrell Waltrip for most Cup wins of all time.

Bobby begins his book with the infamous 1979 Daytona 500…and the fisticuffs afterward. The first live “flag to flag” coverage, the fantastic finish and Bobby and brother Donnie’s fight with Cale Yarborough is credited with being the event that “put NASCAR on the map.” Instead of being applauded by NASCAR for his help in the ratings bonanza…NASCAR fined Bobby $6,000.

Bobby tells his racing history and introduces us to Bob Sunderman, “The Alabama Gang,” Curtis Turner, Junior Johnson and others. Bobby tells of his greatest triumphs…the Winston Cup Championship and 3 Daytona 500 wins as well as his most agonizing moments…his near fatal crash at Pocono and the deaths of his two sons. Learn more about this remarkable man in “Bobby Allison: A Racer’s Racer.”


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