Real Men Work in the Pits: A Life in Nascarý Racing

From Publishers Weekly
While many NASCAR drivers have told their stories of life on and off the track, Hammond is the first to offer a glimpse of life in the pits. A crew chief for the famed driver Junior Johnson and, later, Darrell Waltrip, Hammond grew up listening to the roar of stock car engines and the smell of burning rubber at the nearby Charlotte, N.C., Speedway. When he was 12, he was working on cars with his father; by the time he graduated from high school, he'd joined the Johnson team. In lively prose, Hammond narrates a dynamic tale of working in the pits; the aggressive competition between drivers; the sometimes illegal maneuvers drivers use to win; and the changes the sport has undergone since the early 1970s, when Hammond entered that world. Hammond reflects on his close friendship with the late Dale Earnhardt as well as on the rivalries between early drivers like Johnson and Fireball Roberts. He also charts NASCAR's evolution, from its dirt track origins to its current place as the second most popular sport in America. Although Hammond no longer works in the pits, he continues to be involved in NASCAR racing as its most knowledgeable and savvy radio and television broadcaster. His hard-driving book offers a valuable history of the sport. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Book Description
A fascinating perspective on the sport of racing-a rare firsthand view from the pit, where races are won and lost, by the most successful crew chief in NASCAR® history.

With an astonishing 43 checkered flags and three Winston Cup championships, Jeff Hammond is in the record books as one of NASCAR®'s all-time great crew chiefs. Today, with his expert race analysis for Fox and his weekly cable show, Totally NASCAR®, for the Speed Channel, he remains one of auto racing's most recognizable figures, mobbed by fans wherever he goes.

In Real Men Work in the Pits, Hammond recalls the thrilling moments of his life in racing: starting out as a tire changer for Walter Ballard in 1974 and quickly becoming one of the best jackmen in the business, serving on all three of driver Cale Yarborough's championship seasons, and then taking over as crew chief during the glory days of legendary driver Darrell Waltrip. The stories Hammond tells about his life in NASCAR® and the greats he has known are funny and, sometimes, tragic. He has strong opinions about the current state of the sport and pulls no punches as he offers his insights about the past 30 years when the sport grew so phenomenally from a regional obsession to a national pastime.



About the Author
Jeff Hammond is the most successful crew chief in NASCAR history whose teams won three Winston Cup championships and 43 checkered flags. He is a commentator on Fox's NASCAR® broadcasts and hosts a weekly show, Totally NASCAR®, for cable TV's Speed Channel. Hammond is also a weekly guest on Fox Sports Radio Network's show The Drive, hosted by Tim Ryan and C. J. Silas, and also on Gametime. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Geoff Norman is an award-winning author and regular contributor to a number of magazines, including Esquire, Forbes, and Sports Illustrated. He divides his time between Vermont and the Gulf Coast.



Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

In this insider account of NASCAR racing, TV commentator and renowned crew chief Hammond offers his perspective from inside the racing oval. This book is, for the most part, a succession of stories that link his beginnings in racing with the present, providing insights on the technological and diplomatic aspects of being a crew chief while focusing on particular races and individuals whose careers intertwined with his own. His stories lend more color and dimension to others than himself, most notably longtime associates and NASCAR giants Junior Johnson and Darrell Waltrip. Readers will no doubt appreciate the tales about some of the sport's big names-such as Dale Earnhardt's "big black dog" story-but some of Hammond's best contributions are his views on the nature of NASCAR racing. He frequently draws analogies from other sports, contrasts older practices and policies with newer ones, and cites changes in the sport that have energized it and helped it become the major attraction it is today. There may not be any new ground covered here, but NASCAR's popularity will ensure an audience for this book. A good fit for public libraries.-David Van de Streek, Pennsylvania State Univ. Libs., York Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices