The Wildest Ride: A History of Nascar (Or How a Bunch of Good Ol' Boys Built a Billion-Dollar Industry Out of Wrecking Cars (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)

Rating:
Summary: Simple
Review: This is an excellent book.

If you're relatively new to NASCAR, this is a good primer in how the sport got to where it is today. If you're a long-time fan, you've porbably heard most or all of these stories before. Menzer does a nice job of stringing the lore of NASCAR into a coherent whole.

The only distraction is the polically correct digression into the lack of minorities in the sport and Willy T. Ribbs' attempt to run WInston Cup. Wendell Scott's place in NASCAR history is important and belongs in this book, but Willy T? If this track is to be explored, why weren't Janet Guthrie (look it up) and Shawna Robinson included?

But that's really a small criticism. Reading this book is like sitting around with your buddies and talking racing. The stories aren't new, but they are always enjoyable.

The only thing Menzer missed was Smokey's 7/8 scale Chevelle. Now that's a story.......