From Publishers Weekly
Journalist and NASCAR fan Hinton accelerates along 70 years of raceway history in a volume that bonds track groupies, folk-genius mechanics, paraplegics, NASCAR martyrs, AIDS, drugs, overnight millionaires, generational rivalries and family feuds at 200 mph into a coherent tale for the sport's dedicated and growing fan base. Hinton has had plenty of practice explaining auto racing culture to America for the last 25 years, first for Sports Illustrated and now for the Tribune News Services. After all, he was there "when NASCAR stirred as a sleeping titan of inexplicably charismatic appeal to the mainstream, when it flexed and stretched and went to finishing school and headed relentlessly uptown." Hinton manages to contain all the local color, roaring noise and background forces social, economic, and otherwise in a choppy but continuously attractive story. This is Daytona Speedway not as a structure of concrete and rubber but as a sort of roaring motorsport Mount Olympus, "the carotid artery through which nearly every essential element of motorsports has passed through at one time or another." Some elements pass through more loudly and colorfully than others; historical accounts of speed trials on the beach at Daytona in the 1920s and '30s, for example, may not excite today's spectators. The names and stories that stick are NASCAR names of the last 20 years: "man of the people" Richard Petty, tough guy Cale Yarborough and the late hero, Dale Earnhardt. Hinton's vignettes are sharp and his connections are exciting, split-second glimpses of NASCAR culture. (Nov. 21)Forecast: Yet another to be placed on the swelling NASCAR shelves and one that will sell nevertheless.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Essential reading for NASCAR auto-racing fans, this is a narrative history of Daytona, long a home to speed, racing, and the Daytona 500-mile race, a premiere auto racing event. Since 1903, when straight-line speed runs began on the beach, Daytona has been a hallowed place for racers, and winning the Daytona 500 has been a grail for them. Hinton, a widely known sportswriter and commentator who has covered auto racing for more than two decades, provides a wealth of detail about Daytona's history and the numerous luminaries who have been a part of racing there. In doing so, he also provides a history of NASCAR itself, retelling its origins in the moonshine trade and recalling many of the legends and legendary events of NASCAR. Hinton writes with eloquence and passion, and his narrative approach makes readers feel that they have encountered a collection of related stories with results that are entertaining and yet informative. Many of Hinton's anecdotes allow readers to see more of the personal and human side of the drivers, who are largely television images, although some of his portrayals are not at all flattering. Highly recommended for public libraries. David Van de Streek, Pennsylvania State Univ. Libs., York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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