Customer Reviews

The world's number one, flat-out, all-time great, stock car racing book

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This is an amazing book that covers the entirety of the sport from the local short track to daytona. It is a unique historical anecdotal look at the sport during the early 1970's and much legend and lore from that period is covered. This is quite simply one of the best books on the sport that i have had the opportunity to read. If you are a fan or a student of NASCAR Stock Car racing then you must read this book.

I just finished reading one of the greatest sports books ever written, definitely the most entertaining book on auto racing I have ever laid eyes on.

A few weeks back, I was searching amazon.com for auto racing books and found this. It was written in 1973-1974 and had not sold well but was in great enough demand that a reprint was done in 1995 ("20th Anniversary Edition").

The book is bookended by the 1972 Southern 500 at Darlington and Bledsoe describes the chicanery involved throughout a race weekend in the 'old days.' This is a great read for new or old fans because it takes you behind the scenes and into the lives of independent drivers and "hot dog" stars like Richard Petty and David Pearson.

For local short track fans, a whole chapter is devoted to the "small time" auto racing life. This includes a section where Bledsoe follows around California dirt tracker Billy Scott, including a memorable trip to a strip club.

Bledsoe spends a race day with Richard Petty and family, interviews 1940s-1950s women stock car drivers and describes the struggle of black driver Wendell Scott.

As we all know, fans had a lot more access to drivers than they do now and Bledsoe witnesses this first hand.

Tragic events such as the death of Friday Hassler is detailed, along with the saga of young gun Larry Smith (who lost his life as Bledsoe was writing the book and transcribing a taped interview with Smith).

Nothing like this will ever be written about today's auto racing because access is often limited and the "redneck" image is now frowned upon.

Buy this. Please.

The title of this book matches its content perfectly. I read it years ago and am glad to see it re-printed for today's fan to read. So many NASCAR books today are nothing but fluff - rehashes of generally known stories about Gordon, Stewart, and Earnhardt. But this book is much more. Learn about the great characters and events of the 60s - Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Linda "Miss Hurst Shifter" Vaughn, the annual celebration of the Southern 500 in Darlington (a tradition now gone), and of course The King RICHARD PETTY. Whether you are a new or long-time Cup fan, get this book today.