Rebel With a Cause: A Season With NASCAR Star Tony Stewart [Paperback]

Monte Dutton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Monte Dutton’s Rebel With a Cause provides an inside look at emerging NASCAR superstar Tony Stewart’s 2000 racing season. Stewart’s impressive 2000 campaign has not disappointed the fans who applauded his stellar rookie year, 1999. In 2000, Stewart not only racked up impressive wins, but his fierce competitive spirit and his tell-it-like-it-is attitude have made him a fan favorite. He has made headlines with his dramatic victories but also with his occasional scraps on and off the track with Jeff Gordon and other drivers. Tony Stewart is, without a doubt, one of NASCAR’s most rebellious heroes as well as one of the sport’s best young drivers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dutton (At Speed) blazes through Tony Stewart's "sophomore" 2000 Winston Cup season, when the NASCAR superstar won a spectacular six sanctioned events, more races than any other driver. Dutton's glimpses of this brash, hard-talking young driver will please fans looking for a successor to Dale Earnhardt. Dutton looks at Stewart's team of handlers, pre-race strategizing and reaction to on-track incidents. He also examines infield personalities, their sponsors and the sport-racing press. Dutton does a good job of capturing Stewart's rebellious personality; in 1999, Nike, having garnered an endorsement from the star, sent him a script to recite at the press conference which Stewart crumpled up and threw in the trash. Dutton also chronicles the superstar's tiffs, both on and off the track, with Jeff Gordon and other drivers. The book consists of 40 short pieces from the author's "NASCAR This Week" syndicated newspaper column; unfortunately, this reporting, which focuses on one set of NASCAR venues in the mid-South, isn't enough to provide readers with a coherent picture of the complex mechanics, culture and social context of racing, as Dutton did in his previous book. There is some asphalt-level action, but mostly these pieces only hint at the forces underlying NASCAR racing's strong hold on rural white America. B&w photos. (June 1)Forecast: Dutton's column appears in more than 500 newspapers nationwide, so fans will recognize his name. On the other hand, since readers of that column are already familiar with this material, they may not bother buying the book.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Monte Dutton writes "NASCAR This Week," which is syndicated by Universal Features Syndicate in more than 500 newspapers nationwide. He has won the National Newspaper Association Award, seven South Carolina Press Association Awards, and three National Motorsports Press Association Awards. He lives in Clinton, South Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574882805
• ISBN-13: 978-1574882803
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite a "Driver #8" story about Driver #20., April 29, 2002

By 

M. Tyler (Altadena, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rebel With a Cause: A Season With NASCAR Star Tony Stewart (Paperback)

Mr. Dutton's first book, "At Speed blah blah..." was terrible to the point where I think it should not have been published. His literary agent - whom provided a helpful review here which clarified the origins of the content of "Rebel With a Cause" - will perhaps be dismayed that I reached that conclusion after reading "At Speed..." while browsing in a bookstore and not after wasting my money on it. It might be good for kindling, but that's about it.

Mr. Dutton's effort with "Rebel" is better, though maybe not by leaps and bounds. The book recaps Stewart's sophomore year in Winston Cup, with each chapter corresponding roughly to a week at one track, and then the next track, etc. It's well written and it serves as an entertaining chronicle of Stewart's up-and-down 2000 season. That said, the emphasis is on off-track matters and how those matters affected Stewart's on track performance. Details about what was he was doing on the track during any given race are conspicuously missing, to the book's detriment.

In fact, the book is pretty dull when it comes to conveying any on-track excitement at all, and it reads much more like a columnist reporting the news. Furthermore, I'm not even sure if Mr. Dutton actually interviewed Stewart one-on-one for any part of his book. If he did, it doesn't show. While Stewart is quoted at length throughout the text, one is left with the impression that the quotes are simply lifted from Stewart's press conferences.

Even so, having Stewart's season recorded is still a treat, and what general race coverage there is is sufficient to keep the book moving. But compared to "Driver #8" which follows the same "2000 Winston Cup season, week-by-week" approach, "Rebel" unfortunately does not measure up well. This is partly because of the aforementioned lack of detail about Stewart's on-track experiences during each race, but also because Mr. Dutton simply is not Stewart. To Mr. Dutton's credit as a reporter he is objective throughout his book, but unfortunately that approach precludes the reader from developing any sense of intimacy with his subject. You might get a sense about how Stewart has been shaped by Winston Cup, but you won't feel you've gotten to know him yourself. In fact, Mr. Dutton's style is so objective that you won't even get to know HIM.

Of course, if you are Stewart fan, then Earnhardt Jr.'s book certainly can't "scratch your itch." Objectively, I think "Rebel" is a three-star book, but since I'm a Stewart fan, I've given it four. The casual fan will find a better read in "Driver #8." While the tone of this review is somewhat negative, "Rebel," despite its shortcomings, is still a good, solid book. You could do a lot worse!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rebel With a Cause : A Season With Nascar Star Tony Stewart, June 9, 2001

By 

Jeff Jolly (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rebel With a Cause: A Season With NASCAR Star Tony Stewart (Paperback)

I found this book a very easy read. It really gave some great insight into a NASCAR drivers daily life. It also took me a little deeper into Tony Stewart's way of living and driving than I had imagined. The layout is great and makes for a quick read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Need more insight!!, July 3, 2001

By 

Shawn Brooks (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rebel With a Cause: A Season With NASCAR Star Tony Stewart (Paperback)

I am a big Tony fan who couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. However, after reading it, I was disappointed that there wasn't more background to Tony's past (growing up, highs and lows, etc). I felt it was a basic run down of last season. Yes, there were little bits here and there but I wanted a deeper look inside to who Tony really is. I wanted to find out what makes him tick and why. I felt that I got more of a recap on last years Winston Cup season, not the inside scoop I was expecting.