Reviews for American Zoom : Stock Car Racing - from the Dirt Tracks to Daytona

The average rating for American Zoom : Stock Car Racing - from the Dirt Tracks to Daytona based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-09-26 00:00:00 Dan Novak American Zoom Alex Hoff P.5 Summary Peter Golenbock tells the story of NASCAR, beginning with the top event, the Daytona 500. He presents a brief history of the National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR), which was founded in 1948. NASCAR, which began as battles for bragging rights among bootleggers in the South United States to see who had the fastest car, is now a multimillion dollar sport. It is associated with hundreds of companies now, and is also very well advertised. No longer do people have the image of guys running illegal moonshine. Modern NASCAR has become a glamorous business throughout the USA, and it is a passion shared by almost 30% of the American public. The major portions of the book are accurate tales from the men who shaped NASCAR. These include Richard �The King� Petty, who won 200 races in his racing career. It also includes car builders such as Ralph Moody, engine-builders such as Waddell Wilson, and the former ruler of the raceways, Dale Earnhardt. Dale Earnhardt died Feb 18, 2001 in a tragic racing accident at the Daytona 500. Most people consider baseball to be the most celebrated sport in American history. They mention players such as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth as examples of legends. Baseball history is certainly colorful, but stock car racing seems to now face it head to head. In this wonderful book, Peter Golenbock introduces us to famous racers such as Richard Petty, Bill France, Junior Johnson, the Flock brothers, and Tiny Lund. The book describes the history of stock car racing, from the early days when hopped up cars carrying white lightning were outrunning the law, to the modern age of multimillion dollar sponsorships. American Zoom belongs on the shelf of any fan of motorsports. NASCAR started becoming more popular when television started covering some of the major races, such as the Daytona 500 and Talladega. Today we see commercials for NASCAR. We also see NASCAR related logos on everything from motor oil to cereal. My favorite story in the book was about Ralph Earnhardt, the father of Dale Earnhardt SR. Ralph grew up on a small farm in North Carolina and was never particularly wealthy. During his late teens, he began to build cars in the family garage with the intention of racing dirt tracks. In 1953, at the age of twenty-five, Ralph turned professional and began his quintessential career. He started making a huge impression in the world of racing very quickly. His first race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series took place on the 11th of November, 1956.He finished second to Speedy Thompson in the Grand National (now the Sprint Cup Series) at Hickory Speedway in North Carolina. This book taught me that no matter who you are, and what you do, you have potential to be great if you work hard.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-15 00:00:00 Jerson Perdo Well written. The reader finds out how Charlotte came to be and how poor a sportsman Bruton Smith is and always will be. He is a wart on the sport of NASCAR.