Racin' Readin'If you've got racing on the brain, you might want to put down that copy of Shakespeare's Othello you've been reading for Tuesday night's book club meeting and try one of these two offerings from David Bull Publishing.
For the racing fan, Cheating: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do in Pursuit of Speed by Tom Jensen is good entertainment. If you are a racer, you might also consider it a textbook. Cheating is filled with the colorful stories of chicanery and outright rule breaking that made the antics of the garage area at Winston Cup races every bit as interesting as the action on the track. Very few people can get the unvarnished truth about the games being played in the garage. This book is filled with quotes from many of the greatest mechanics and drivers ever associated with the sport, and many of them are telling stories on each other. From the early days all the way through the modern era, a lot gets revealed in these pages, and Jensen's writing style makes for an easy and entertaining read. If there is a problem with this book, it's that it too often mistakes ingenuity for cheating. Nobody will argue that exploiting a loophole in the rule book is cheating, but a lot of the technical innovations that have pushed stock car racing forward are discussed under the banner of "cheating." No matter what you call it, Cheating makes for a fascinating read about some of the greatest contests between racers that took place before the green flag ever flew.
One of the people who played the "innovation" game to the hilt has a book out himself. Crew chief-turned-television personality Larry McReynolds, with the help of co-author Bob Zeller, has put the details of his tumultuous life on paper in Larry McReynolds: The Big Picture. In it, he details his career as a crew chief for such notable drivers as Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, and Dale Earnhardt. Along the way, McReynolds won 23 races, highlighted by Earnhardt's triumphant win in the 1998 Daytona 500. It's another rollicking tale that reveals a lot about how NASCAR Winston Cup racing really works. If nothing else, this book is worth the price of purchase just to see the boyhood photos of McReynolds at various tracks. You are a braver man than we thought, Larry.
Helping HandsARCA RE/MAX Series competitor Christi Passmore is joining the "Believe In Tomorrow National Children's Foundation" to provide a true racing experience to critically ill children. Passmore plans to run the full 2003 season and with a car featuring the handprints of children selected by the foundation at various races.
The idea of the painted handprints on the race car was first implemented by Amick Racing. "The kids will be considered an official team member," says Passmore. "They will bring good luck to our team, regardless of how our 2003 season ends. We're already pretty darned lucky just to be a part of their lives."
Believe In Tomorrow was created in 1982 (then known as Grant-A-Wish) to help children with life-threatening illnesses to believe in hope, joy, and the promise of tomorrow.
Black FlagWe inadvertently left out the two sources for the Holley Two-Barrel Tunable Metering Block article in the March 2003 issue. They are:
Darrell PoeDP Performance Race Engines467 Sandy Branch Church Rd.Bear Creek, NC 27207-9324PH/FAX: 919/837-5114darrell@centernet.net
Holley Performance Products1801 Russellville Rd.Bowling Green, KY 42101Tech and Info: 270/781-9741Nearest Dealer: 800/HOLLEY-1www.holley.com