Customer Reviews

The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing: Records, Streaks, Oddities, and Trivia

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"The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing:  Records, Streaks,  Oddities and Trivia  should be the bible for everybody in the sport-media business, P.R. people, marketing people, and fans.  I bought copies for my marketing people to give to prospective clients because this book does the best job of telling the story of the sport we're selling-stock-car racing-than any I've ever seen."

Richard Sowers brings a unique and knowledgable voice to the world of NASCAR; a welcome breath of fresh air amidst overly cynical journalists and sugar-coated sentiments. His is an honest look behind the scenes of America's Sport.
"The Complete Statistical History of Stock-Car Racing: Records, Streaks, Oddities and Trivia" is an absolutely invaluable resource. Sowers provides readers with an index that measures the racers of yesteryear against those of the modern era, thus giving followers a chance to debate more accurately about which driver should be called "the greatest of all time." His stance on the true count of the number of races that Bobby Allison won is also not to be missed.
As a writer, I must say that Sowers' book is my Bible, if you'll excuse the cliche. I use it to research and verify facts, and it inspires many articles for my Web site. This book is never far from my reach. I would not recommend this book to someone without prior knowledge of the basics of NASCAR racing, though. They'd be better off going with a book like Mark Martin's "NASCAR for Dummies." But for fans and writers searching for the ultimate statistical guide - look no further!

Finally! A book to answer all questions and end all arguments about Stock Car Racing. Richard Sowers has given us an incredible collection of facts, figures, and anecdotes that every racing fan must have. As an anchor at CNN Sports Illustrated, I expect to make extensive use of this book as part of our NASCAR/Winston Cup coverage. It's racing's equivalent of the American Express Card--don't go to the track or get into a racing argument without it. Bravo, Richard, and thanks!

Even if you're not a Nascar fan, you will find this book enjoyable. The statistics are interesting, not overwhelming. For the first time, you have a quantative analysis of who really is the greatest driver of all time. This is the resource every fan must own. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Great stats and some stats and records I had never heard of before, very well laid out

In addition to its use of Sowers' Performance Index to quantify who were the greatest drivers ever and why, the book presents a year by year history of NASCAR on a scale never attempted before. As NASCAR has only in the last decade or so exploded into truly national notoriety and popularity, there are literally thousands of fans who know little or nothing about the sport's pioneers--men like Lee Petty, Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker, the Flock brothers, Tim, Bob, and Fonty, and the wild and crazy Curtis Turner. Many of them were men who learned their driving skills not at some high-priced racing school, but on the rural backroads of places like Georgia and North Carolina--running moonshine and evading the law. It was men like these who in the 1950's competed for small purses on mostly dirt tracks as part of the upstart organization known as NASCAR, which was seen by some as a low-class pretender to "true" American racing--the Indianapolis 500. Today, NASCAR has not only equaled Indy car racing in prestige and popularity, it has surpassed it; advancing beyond the most optimistic dreams of NASCAR's founder, Big Bill France. To learn the fascinating details of this great American success story, you must read this book.

As a Statistician, you can do no better than this book. A complete statistical history of the sport. All the fine details for hours upon hours of analysis and enjoyment.