Customer Reviews

Gold Thunder: Autobiography of a NASCAR Champion

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Here's another great auto racing book that will not only let you into the life of Rex White, it will teach you along the way. Stricken with polio at a young age, growing up in poverty and working countless hours on a farm never hindered little Rex White's passion to get behind the wheel of a race car. You'll find out why his father played a major role in his "race to finish, race to win" atttitude, and you'll meet all of the people who impacted Rex's life on his way to becoming a NASCAR champion. People like modified great Frankie Schneider, who became White's mentor, to partner Louie Clements are all given prime space in this book. Rex tells what racing was really like in the good old days, his love of Chevrolet, and the countless hours on the road traveling on nickles and dimes to get to the next race. A regular dinner was a package of Lance crackers. You'll also attend several wild parties honchoed by Clown Prince Joe Weatherly.
The best part of this book are the lessons learned thanks to a great work ethic. You'll laugh at the loads of funny characters that come into Rex's life, and then also deal with racing's dangers and the many tragic events that happened on the track. It's loaded with photos, tells of the great/not so great 1963 year at Daytona with his Mystery Motor 427 Chevy, GM's "on again, off again" policies on racing and becoming a member of the official Chevy racing teams.
Another can't miss book on the great sport of auto racing from the eyes of one of NASCAR's all-time best 50 drivers. He may have stood only 5'4" in stature, but this is a giant of a man when it comes to racing and winning in life.

This book is wonderful! I don't know how to describe it. I'm not into sports and all that, but this was a riveting read.

In many autobiographies, it seems obvious that someone wrote the book for that person. But in Gold Thunder, Rex's no-punches-pulled account blends with Anne's seamless strorytelling to the point that one can almost imagine Rex sitting next to you.

Gold Thunder is very fast paced. You put the key in the ignition, rev it up a few times, and then watch it go. As the motor purrs to a stop and you turn the last page, you'll wonder where all the time went

Anyone will enjoy this book,including non race fans like myself. I'm sure that many aspects of it make more sense to race fans, but the book itself is a wonderful introduction to racing. I had no idea that NASCAR had such a colorful history. What a cast of characters! It's enough to make even the newest fans feel a bit of nostalgia.

This well-written biography of Rex White, one of NASCAR's Fifty Living Legends, will keep you reading to the end to find out the outcome of all White's adventures in the 1950s and 60s on the early NASCAR circuit. White drove before the ovals were paved, and seems as comfortable on dirt tracks and on the road to the next race as anywhere in the world. Along the way, readers will learn as much about the stock car racing sport as readers of "Seabiscuit" found out about the life of the jockey and the history of the horse racing sport. This is a very enjoyable book with delightful accounts of team high jinks throughout the story and enough historical material to keep NASCAR fans arguing for years.