I’m a bad friend.
Book Review: ‘NASCAR Legends’ A Brilliant, Thorough Look At Stock Car Racing’s All-Time Greats
Robert Edelstein, the author of two previous NASCAR books including Full Throttle: The Life And Fast Times Of Curtis Turner, pressed a copy of his latest book into my hand in late January and smiled.
This was his baby, and he could hardly contain his enthusiasm for its release. The title was NASCAR Legends: Memorable Men, Moments And Machines In Racing History, and he said it covered everything from the first NASCAR race to Jimmie Johnson’s championship dominance.
I knew it would be great based on his previous work and told him I’d read it soon and write a review. Like I said: That was in January; this is August.
What gives?
It’s funny how my reading habits have changed. These days, I read in 140-character spurts, in Facebook status updates, in short blog posts. When someone links to a longer story online, I skim it first before deciding whether to dive in fully.
But I used to love reading books. I just haven’t read many lately; shame on me. As a result, I didn’t make enough time to read Edelstein’s book in the early going.
I tore through the first two chapters on the Easter off-week. I ticked off another few chapters in May. But each chapter was a completely different and fascinating story – from a piece on NASCAR’s convertible division (which I knew nothing about) to an inside look at the night Dale Earnhardt rattled Terry Labonte’s cage at Bristol – so it led to my procrastination.
I’m glad I finally made the time to sit down and finish the rest of NASCAR Legends this month.
My personal bias and friendship with Edelstein aside, I can tell you this: NASCAR Legends is worth every moment of the time it takes to read its 302 pages – and it would be worth every penny to buy it.
I only started following NASCAR in 2004, so what I know of its history is mostly based on statistics alone, plus old stories and the occasional television retrospective on Speed or ESPN. But Edelstein goes way, way beyond that.
It’s hard to even begin to imagine the depth of research he put into this book; it makes me tired just thinking about it. Countless interviews are cited, along with old clippings and archived race footage. As a result, every chapter is filled with little nuggets and details I’d never known before – even when it’s about events I thought I knew everything about (such as Tony Stewart’s first Brickyard 400 win) or stories I’d heard 100 times (like the 1979 Daytona 500).
Names on a list of NASCAR greats suddenly came alive with context and meaning instead of just judging their careers or contributions by the numbers: Bill France Sr.‘s grip on the early days of NASCAR. Fred Lorenzen’s surprise retirement. Davey Allison’s legacy.
And then there’s the Earnhardts. In addition to the chapter on Earnhardt Sr.‘s legendary Bristol win, Edelstein deeply explores the relationship between father and son in one chapter – including Earnhardt Sr.‘s death and how Earnhardt Jr. dealt with it in the days and months afterward – and devotes another to Earnhardt Jr.‘s split from Dale Earnhardt Inc., his arrival at Hendrick Motorsports and his tenure there thus far.
NASCAR Legends was a true delight to read, and the writing in each chapter is pitch-perfect. Not only did it educate me, but it entertained me. It will stay on my bookshelf as a handy source of reference or a refresher on history, too.
Quite honestly, this is a book that should be required reading for everyone who considers themselves to be a NASCAR fan. Buy it for yourselves or a family member.
Better yet, buy it for a friend. If you do, you’ll be a better friend than I’ve been to Edelstein.
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