BIG BILL'S BIG STORY A SHAM?, 01 May 2007
This book had me hooked from the opening pages. So much more than a book about the origins of a sport, this is the story of many peoples lives (Red Vogt, Bill France, Raymond Parks, Red Byron, Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall and others) and how they intertwined. The backdrop is the Southern inferiority complex and identity of a region who like to thumb their nose at Yankee rules. As an English NASCAR fanatic I lapped it all up but I am sure that anybody with an interest in motor sport, and/or US history will love this. The fascinating story of how Bill France more or less stole the sport right from under the noses of all the founders and made it a dictatorship, and then went on to kick all of the whiskey bootleggers out and write a different history for future consumption is just amazing. Then the irony of him spending his final days riddled with Alzheimers telephoning all of the old cronies to talk about cars and racing is touching. I am now going on to read his book about Alan Shephard - and I don't have any interest in spaceflight!

BRILLIANT!!!

BIG BILL'S BIG STORY A SHAM?, 01 May 2007
This book had me hooked from the opening pages. So much more than a book about the origins of a sport, this is the story of many peoples lives (Red Vogt, Bill France, Raymond Parks, Red Byron, Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall and others) and how they intertwined. The backdrop is the Southern inferiority complex and identity of a region who like to thumb their nose at Yankee rules. As an English NASCAR fanatic I lapped it all up but I am sure that anybody with an interest in motor sport, and/or US history will love this. The fascinating story of how Bill France more or less stole the sport right from under the noses of all the founders and made it a dictatorship, and then went on to kick all of the whiskey bootleggers out and write a different history for future consumption is just amazing. Then the irony of him spending his final days riddled with Alzheimers telephoning all of the old cronies to talk about cars and racing is touching. I am now going on to read his book about Alan Shephard - and I don't have any interest in spaceflight!

BRILLIANT!!!

An interesting book, 18 Jun 2008
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of NASCAR racing consisted of the knowledge that it exists. However, as someone who has worked all his life in professional science, I've always been interested in the interaction of science with everyday life. I found this book fascinating. Professor Leslie-Pelecky covers a vast amount of ground, ranging from the nature and structure of materials to the physical forces operating on a racecar. At times the explanations are too simplistic, and she occasionally gets things wrong, but these are minor quibbles in an otherwise very entertaining and informative book, which hopefully will encourage people to consider science not as something remote, done only in laboratories, but as having relevance to the world around us.

Science, Teamwork, and Agony of Tweaking to Run Faster and Safer, 17 Mar 2008
If you love NASCAR, this book will increase your love.

If you don't think NASCAR is interesting, this book will change your mind. There's lot more going on than just turning left and keeping the pedal to the metal.

Each NASCAR track presents different challenges to drivers, team leaders, car designers, mechanics, and pit crews. At the same time, NASCAR is trying to keep the cost of racing down, to reduce accidents and deaths, and to make the sport fairer for all. Professor Leslie-Pelecky goes behind the scenes to explain the technical challenges, and shares anecdotes and vignettes of what racing is like for the technical teams and drivers.

Fans are naturally frustrated if a favorite driver seems to have a slug rather than a race car some weeks. If the weather is changeable, it's hard to avoid a slug. Why? The cars are optimized to so many factors that a switch in the weather makes the car work much less well. Although the mechanics can make lots of last minute changes, there's still a lot guess work involved.

While many books about the physics of something can be pretty dry, The Physics of NASCAR doesn't have that problem. The scientific explanations are short and simple. The human stories about what the science means are rich and long.

I came away very impressed with the brain power that goes into NASCAR winning. My interest was greatly increased by learning more about the non-driving side.

BIG BILL'S BIG STORY A SHAM?, 01 May 2007
This book had me hooked from the opening pages. So much more than a book about the origins of a sport, this is the story of many peoples lives (Red Vogt, Bill France, Raymond Parks, Red Byron, Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall and others) and how they intertwined. The backdrop is the Southern inferiority complex and identity of a region who like to thumb their nose at Yankee rules. As an English NASCAR fanatic I lapped it all up but I am sure that anybody with an interest in motor sport, and/or US history will love this. The fascinating story of how Bill France more or less stole the sport right from under the noses of all the founders and made it a dictatorship, and then went on to kick all of the whiskey bootleggers out and write a different history for future consumption is just amazing. Then the irony of him spending his final days riddled with Alzheimers telephoning all of the old cronies to talk about cars and racing is touching. I am now going on to read his book about Alan Shephard - and I don't have any interest in spaceflight!

BRILLIANT!!!

An interesting book, 18 Jun 2008
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of NASCAR racing consisted of the knowledge that it exists. However, as someone who has worked all his life in professional science, I've always been interested in the interaction of science with everyday life. I found this book fascinating. Professor Leslie-Pelecky covers a vast amount of ground, ranging from the nature and structure of materials to the physical forces operating on a racecar. At times the explanations are too simplistic, and she occasionally gets things wrong, but these are minor quibbles in an otherwise very entertaining and informative book, which hopefully will encourage people to consider science not as something remote, done only in laboratories, but as having relevance to the world around us.

Science, Teamwork, and Agony of Tweaking to Run Faster and Safer, 17 Mar 2008
If you love NASCAR, this book will increase your love.

If you don't think NASCAR is interesting, this book will change your mind. There's lot more going on than just turning left and keeping the pedal to the metal.

Each NASCAR track presents different challenges to drivers, team leaders, car designers, mechanics, and pit crews. At the same time, NASCAR is trying to keep the cost of racing down, to reduce accidents and deaths, and to make the sport fairer for all. Professor Leslie-Pelecky goes behind the scenes to explain the technical challenges, and shares anecdotes and vignettes of what racing is like for the technical teams and drivers.

Fans are naturally frustrated if a favorite driver seems to have a slug rather than a race car some weeks. If the weather is changeable, it's hard to avoid a slug. Why? The cars are optimized to so many factors that a switch in the weather makes the car work much less well. Although the mechanics can make lots of last minute changes, there's still a lot guess work involved.

While many books about the physics of something can be pretty dry, The Physics of NASCAR doesn't have that problem. The scientific explanations are short and simple. The human stories about what the science means are rich and long.

I came away very impressed with the brain power that goes into NASCAR winning. My interest was greatly increased by learning more about the non-driving side.

A must for any NASCAR fan, 03 Feb 2002
Wether you are a big NASCAR fan or someone who is justing getting interested in the sport this book by the driver of the #6 Ford Taurus in the Winston Cup, Mark Martin is for you.

The book is divided into 5 sections each dealing with a differant aspect of NASCAR.

Part 1 deals with history of NASCAR, the money behind the sport and all the differant series within NASCAR.

Part 2 is all about the rules and regulations of NASCAR and the people involved in running as NASCAR team.

Part 3 describes a typical race weeknd for a Winston Cup team from the time they unload the car to the time they load up to go to the next race.

Part 4 is perhaps the most important part of the book. Here the author talks about each of the circuits. Each track has its own mini chapter which tells you about the track, where it is situated, when the race dates are, where to buy race tickets from and the people to contact for accomadation.

In this section is also a very useful chapter on going to race and what you might expect.

The last section discusses some of the great drivers in NASCAR history, some of the upcoming stars and the 10 biggest races on the schedule.

There are 3 appendixies. Appendix A gives the meanings to all the NASCAR jargon that you hear on the infrequent broadcasts of NASCAR we get in the UK. Appendix B is all the Stats and Appendix C is all the drivers No's for 2001.

On the whole it a very well laid book with lots intresting sidebars giving you an insight into the fastest saloon car championship in the world.