A premier racer in NASCAR history drives his way into readers' hearts with an inside story of his amazing recovery after a 1994 crash, his strong opinions of the racing world today, and a candid account of his personal life. of photos.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
A stock-car racing hero who came back from horrible injuries sullies his image somewhat in this thinly veiled screed against them what wronged him. In the early 1990s, Irvan (please don't call him ``Swervin''), was one of the hottest pilots on the NASCAR circuit. Winner of the 1991 Daytona 500, stock-car racing's premier event, and a regular challenger for the season championship, Irvan earned a reputation as a hard charger, a reputation, as it happens, that had as many negative connotations as positive ones. Going into 1994, Irvan was on top of the sport: the hottest driver racing for one of the best teams, Robert Yates's Texaco-sponsored Ford. During that season, however, Ernie hit the wall, literally and figuratively, slamming into a concrete barrier at 190 mph during a practice session. The tremendous force of the impact shattered his body, nearly blinding him in one eye. Two years later, wearing an eye patch, Ernie got back behind the wheel and since then, he's resumed his winning ways. If only this perseverance against adversity were the focus of the book. Alas, too often, Irvan launches into rants: against Yates, who jerked him around during contract renegotiations after the 1997 season; against Texaco, for misconstruing his failure to mention them at an awards banquet as an unforgivable slight; against other drivers and the media, who criticized his recklessness. While Irvan's fault-finding fills relatively few pages, it sets the tone for the rest of the book. This is a pity, because seemingly lost amid the rancor is the fact the Irvan is a plainspoken individual, who waxes philosophical about his injuries (the inevitable downside to good fortune, he reasons), is heartfelt in his descriptions of NASCAR colleagues, and is sincere in his grief over friends who have died while on the circuit. (Co-author Golenbock is the author of Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes: The Definitive Oral History of Americas Team, 1997.) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Fear,
By Bill Eliot (Lebanon, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: No Fear: Ernie Irvan: The Nascar Driver's Story of Tragedy and Triumph (Hardcover)
The book No Fear was a book of one mans struggle up through the ranks of racing, and how it all could have ended in a heart beat. This book first takes place at Michigan speedway. Ernie Irvan is a racer on top of his game, a professional at what he does. They are out doing practice laps the day before the race at Michigan, trying to get the setup right. Larry, Ernie's crew chief, told Ernie to take only 10 laps and then come in, and Ernie, being Ernie, is going to take 11, whether Larry likes it or not. On the eleventh lap in turn three, Ernie blows a tire and hits the wall nose first at 190 mph. Even with all of the restraints and safety they have, hitting a wall at 190 mph and coming to a dead stop, will screw you up because momentum continues with your intestines. The doctors predicted that Ernie would not make it through the night on life support. After months of rehabilitation and having the "never give up attitude" that he had, he was able to continue racing, even though no one thought he would be the same after the accident. It took a long time to get to where he was, coming from a low class family with barley enough money to race, let alone utilities, but Ernie was determined to do his best and become a racer. Even after his father walking out, and watching his best friend die in a race, he never gave up. His favorite saying was "When times get tough, the tough get going," and he did believe in that saying because no matter what he just kept going!This booked was a very well put together story of Ernie's life. It showed all of the hardships he had to go through, the ups and the downs. It really made clear how much he had to struggle to make it to where he was, and how he almost lost it all in the blink of an eye. The book had some choppiness to how the races were put together, like how it would only explain some and not even mention others and then bring them up later, was a little difficult to comprehend. However, how he talked about his incident first to get the readers attention and to bring them into his childhood was an excellent way to start the book. It was a very good representation of how NASCAR was coming up through the years, just like Ernie and how he was struggling with his career. I thought this book was a very interesting and excellent way to show how his life went and the struggles he had to go through. It will keep you interested through the whole book, and it has very encouraging words in it. It will show you all of the things he went through, and you should be able to see what it is like to have to go through it to try to get to your goals. Even when it seems like you can't and the people around you think you won't be able to, to keep on trying, never give up, and have No Fear!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Fear,
This review is from: No Fear: Ernie Irvan, The NASCAR Driver's Story of Tragedy & Triumph (Mass Market Paperback)
Ernie explained everything that I had ever wanted to know in this book. I always knew that there was so much more to the Texaco story. It's an inside look at his life. I watched him in his career and always wanted to know more. This is more.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to put down.,
This review is from: No Fear: Ernie Irvan: The Nascar Driver's Story of Tragedy and Triumph (Hardcover)
Very good book,hard to put down once you start reading it,even though there are a few mistakes through it. A must read for any racing fan.
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