Customer Reviews

Flat Out and Half Turned Over: Tales from Pit Road with Buddy Baker

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Buddy Baker's "Flat Out and Half Turned Over: Tales from Pit Road" is a chronological rememberance of a time when NASCAR moved from a regional non-sponsored organization to the time when the corporate interests of NASCAR started to take over. Baker, son of the famed Buck Baker, tells stories of when drivers were human enough to play practical jokes on each other, have knock-down, drag-out fights if they had an altercation on the track, and then get drunk together that night when all was forgotten. In today's big-money sanitized stock car racing world, this activity seems like ancient history, if it is recalled at all.

As a driver and a TV commentator, most of these stories have been told and retold before, although they are still interesting. Two of the less-mentioned chapters of Baker's stories are 1) why he had to retire (serious medical injuries, which were a testament to his build and strength), and 2) how significantly the NASCAR landscape would look if three drivers (Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Tim Richmond) had lived. This is a point that I had considered in my own thinking as a race fan; life's coming and going is what it is and we don't have a say in that, but these three bright stars in NASCAR would have made the sport look much different over the past 15 years if they had the opportunity to compete.

Buddy Baker's book, to his critics, is not "War And Peace" or Shakespere, but it never claimed to be. It is simply an interesting book about simpler times; stories about how men raced hard for a living so they could support their families and how Buddy Baker made his way in this world. It's good to have recorded and read a book like this, before NASCAR and its drivers become too close to the America that the corporate world loves and individuality disappears.

Great book. Easy and fast read. A lot of interesting NASCAR history for buffs.

11 JUNE 2008

I JUST RECV'D THIS BOOK. IT SHOULD HAVE A GREAT BIG WARNING ACROSS THE FRONT OF IT; "NO EATING OR DRINKING WHILE READING THIS" !!!! THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE LAUGHING!!! IF YOU ARE A FAN OF OLD DIRT TRACK RACING & OR THE EARLY DAYS OF NASCAR, YOU'LL LUV IT !!! IF YOU'RE NOT A FAN, AFTER YOU READ THIS, YOU WILL BE!!!,,,, OR YOU'RE JUST PLAIN NUMB !!! BUDDY IS A HOOT !!!

If you do not laugh out loud when you read this book, check your pulse! This book is extremely funny and would only be better if there was an audio recording of Buddy telling the stories himself! Actually, that is an idea that some company really should explore. I received an extra copy of this book and gave it to a new to NASCAR fan. She loved it! She said it is best not be drinking or eating while reading it though, you may suffer from choking spells or spewing liquids!

I agree with the other reviewer about how thought provoking the chapters on the loss of drivers would have effected the sport. As someone who remembers the time they were here and the time after they left us, I feel the emptiness they left behind.

For someone wanting to laugh, read this book! For someone who wants to spend an afternoon reading about some history of NASCAR, this book can easily whet your whistle!