Race with Destiny [Hardcover]

David Poole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

In 1992, NASCAR was on the verge of transforming from a strictly-Southern, rural phenomenon into arguably the new national pastime. But the sport was at a crossroads. Richard Petty, the `King` of the sport, was in his final season. Jeff Gordon, the future sensation, was in his rookie season and still an unknown. But the bigger story was a three-way battle for one of the closest championship races in the history of the sport. There was Davey Allison, the young, brash star of one of racing`s most fabled families and veteran `Awesome` Bill Elliott, the soft-spoken Georgian trying to recapture his mid-80`s glory. Then, there was outsider Alan Kuwicki, the college-educated, Wisconsin native who managed to compete with modest resources but unlimited passion. A year later, Allison and Kuwicki would be dead, both killed in air disasters unrelated to racing. This is the remarkable story of their final season, one that would change the course of NASCAR history forever. David Poole, NASCAR beat writer for the Charlotte Observer, takes readers into the pits and the garages for this watershed season. It`s not only the story of a spirited battle between three markedly different men, but an inside look at how NASCAR has exploded into the national consciousness.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

David Poole covers the NASCAR scene for the Charlotte Observer, the number one newspaper in the country for motorsport coverage. His column is also syndicated nationwide by the Knight-Ridder/Tribune news service. Poole has received numerous awards for writing from the National Motorsports Press Association, including first place for feature writing, and first place for columns. He is a resident of Gastonia, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Albion Press (FL) (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970917031
• ISBN-13: 978-0970917034
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NASCAR's changing of the guard, August 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Race with Destiny (Hardcover)

Evidently lost in the shuffle with Joe Menzer's "Wildest Ride" and Ed Hinton's "Daytona," Poole's less-celebrated but fine effort centers on the last race of the 1992 season at Atlanta, where Bill Elliott, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki all had an excellent shot at the Winston Cup Championship and three other drivers were mathematically in the running. The race also marked Jeff Gordon's first Winston Cup appearance and Richard Petty's last, a true changing of the guard, as it developed. Poole does an excellent job at profiling the three drivers fighting for the title, particularly Kulwicki, the eventual title winner, who emerges as a driven outsider, a Yankee in a southern sport and an owner/driver in a period where multicar teams began to take over. Poole shows the difficulties Kulwicki faced handling the pressures of running a small team, as well as the budget problems and sponsor demands arising in all teams, the personality conflicts that arise in top-level racing, and the cameraderie that develops both within and among the racing teams as the caravan heads from track to track through the season. This book does a superb job of showing what NASCAR was like before the explosion of its popularity in the mid-nineties, and while it seems a little silly to be nostalgic for an era only ten years past, it's what you wind up feeling as you close this book. Of course it doesn't help that two of the principal drivers profiled died in separate aircraft accidents in 1993, and Poole speculates briefly about what NASCAR would have been like in the nineties, and who may have been deprived of a top-flight ride, had Allison and Kulwicki lived. A must for NASCAR fans.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Job Well-Done..., September 18, 2002

By 

James Todd (Aptos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Race with Destiny (Hardcover)

David Poole's Race with Destiny: The Year that Changed NASCAR envisions history from the present, submerging the reader in a multi-layered account of a dramatic year for the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. The action-filled Hooters 500 race on November 12, 1992 eventually led to the points championship being won by Alan Kulwicki over Davey Allison and Bill Elliott. Poole's crafty and enjoyable read takes his audience not only through a gripping season finale, but also interestingly places the year as a turning point for the sport of stock car racing.

Reading the book not only takes the reader on a season journey-it also compels the reader to think about the difficult project Poole faced as an author. Given the deaths of Allison and Kulwicki in 1992, Poole's primary sources are obviously not accounts from these racing legends, but other first-hand versions constructed through interviews with some of the sport's well-known staples, such as Larry McReynolds, Bill Davis, Ty Norris, Wayne Estes, Michael Kranefuss, Benny Parsons, Jim Hunter, Monte Dutton, and Deb Williams. Poole does an outstanding job recreating the past from the present by situating the reader as an inside spectator-the book allows readers to imaginatively glimpse the personal dramas facing the teams and drivers. By far, the most successful part of Poole's project is the writing itself, as he obviously gave thoughtful consideration to the process of reading-he allows the reader to comfortably envision and imagine what must have been going on in the minds of Kulwicki and Tom Roberts (Kulwicki's PR agent) as the season unfolded. Poole is a gifted storyteller, as he also provides remarkable accounts of several races over the year, and literally allows readers to imagine themselves "being there" listening to drivers' radios, conversations between crew chiefs and drivers, and press conferences throughout the year.

This book is an excellent read-not only for the seasoned NASCAR fan, but those who are just entering the sport in search of historical background. As an anthropologist currently on tour with the NASCAR circuit, I have found this book to be one of my favorite reads this year, and see myself using it not only as a historical reference point, but for understanding how narratives of NASCAR can be successfully inscribed between the covers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Watershed Year, April 29, 2007

By 

Winslow Bunny "Winslow_Bunny" (Rockledge, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Race with Destiny (Hardcover)

NASCAR's 1992 season was going to be a year of the changing of the guard; it was confirmed the year before when Richard Petty announced his retirement. Few people had any idea how much impact the year would have. It was the year of the alliance of Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin with Junior Johnson, and a rebirth of Elliott's championship chances; the year that Davey Allison, injuries, crashes and all, because a championship force; and Alan Kulwicki, the engineering graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, running his own team, an afterthought at the beginning of the year except that Junior Johnson had offered him $1,000,000 to drive his car, which he turned down. Poole looks at these competitors, their races, their personalities, and the exciting 1992 season, truly one of the best, most dramatic in the history of NASCAR. It offers a more profound, in depth view of each man than other books I have read about the year, the culmination of the last race and the championship banquet, and the aftermath of the year. It's an excellent book, one worth reading and having in your library.