THE WILDEST RIDE traces the history of America's best known racing
sanctioning body, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing
(NASCAR), from its humble roots among moonshine runners in the
southeastern United States to its lofty position as the body behind
a rapidly growing "major league" sport, complete with a national
following, heavy corporate involvement, and an expensive television
package. Author Joe Menzer tells the tale episodically, recounting
many stories involving most of the sport's most colorful
personalities. He also addresses some of the challenges NASCAR
faces as it seeks to increase its fan base and keep the sport
growing.

The strength of Menzer's book is his storytelling ability. Whether
he is spinning yarns about Junior Johnson's moonshine runs in the
1930s and '40s or Darrell Waltrip's talent for self–promotion
in the 1970s and '80s, Menzer's casual, talky style makes for
exciting and easy reading. Ride along, for example, with David
Pearson and Richard Petty after the two have made contact in the
final turn on the final lap, while battling for victory in the 1976
Daytona 500:

"Even as he was spinning out of control, Pearson remained calm
behind the wheel of his Mercury. He rammed in the clutch as he hit
the wall, revving his engine in a last–ditch effort to keep
it running no matter what was going to happen next. Petty made the
serious error of ignoring his clutch as his car bounced off the
wall and slid to a stop in the grassy infield less than a football
field short of the finish line and his sixth Daytona 500 victory.
As a result, his engine died. He desperately set about trying to
restart it, to no avail."

Occasionally, however, Menzer's prose slips from chatty to sloppy,
resulting in errors of both fact and sense --- sometimes in the
same sentence:

"At the age of sixteen on one hot summer evening in Harland, Iowa,
where he grew up, (Tiny) Lund entered a motorcycle race with his
parents in the grandstand."

The folks in Harlan, Iowa, many of whom will be in attendance for
the 10th annual Tiny Lund Memorial at Shelby County Speedway this
fall, could tell you with confidence that their favorite son never
raced a motorcycle in the grandstands --- especially not against
his parents.

Many of the best moments in THE WILDEST RIDE are built around
interviews with drivers, promoters, and fans. H. A. "Humpy"
Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway in
Concord, N. C., and a man who has been influential in racing since
its earliest days, was apparently quite generous with his time.
Wheeler's memories and interpretations of important events in the
history of the sport lend the book much of its authenticity. Also
of note are Menzer's interviews with Al Shuford, an
African–American and an athletic trainer who works in the
infield car center at Lowe's Motor Speedway, who discusses the
lingering racism in the sport, and with Jim and Sheri Rayner, a
couple who drove from Ohio through snow and freezing rain to attend
Dale Earnhardt's funeral in Charlotte, N. C., even though they knew
they would never get inside the church where the service was
conducted for their favorite driver.

However, Menzer failed to secure interviews with some of the most
important figures in the sport. Comments from the likes of Bill
France Jr., NASCAR's CEO and son of founder "Big Bill" France,
NASCAR President Mike Helton, and current driving stars like Jeff
Gordon are reported second–hand or taken from various media
events. France could have offered much of interest about his father
and the sport's history, while interviews with NASCAR officials
(who are, it must be admitted, extremely tight–lipped with
members of the media) would have added depth to Menzer's discussion
of the issues he believes NASCAR needs to address in the immediate
future.

Those issues include the aforementioned perception of the sport as
a bastion of racism where only whites are welcome in the cars, on
the crews or in the stands, as well as safety concerns. Issues of
safety blazed their way into the public's mind when Dale Earnhardt,
perhaps the sport's most popular hero, was killed in a wreck on the
final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Interestingly, Menzer chose not
to touch on the controversy surrounding several media
organizations' requests to have Earnhardt's autopsy photos
evaluated by independent experts --- a move that angered many
NASCAR fans (which may account for the subject's omission). Menzer
does briefly touch on the notion that an independent, impartial
body may be necessary in order to truly make progress in the area
of safety, however.

THE WILDEST RIDE, focused almost entirely on NASCAR's highest level
--- Winston Cup racing --- ignores the huge amount of grassroots
racing happening at dirt and asphalt tracks across the nation under
the NASCAR banner or that of a handful of other sanctioning bodies.
Still, if you're looking for a fast read about this fastest of all
sports, THE WILDEST RIDE will get you on track in a hurry.