Offers a detailed look at NASCAR racing, including the cars, engines, race team members, race car construction, race day inspections, pit stops, and track records

You're no idiot. You know that NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing) is the number-one spectator sport in America today, and that through television, radio, and the Internet, it reaches thousands of new fans every week. But you still don't know what all the hype is really about. Who are the major players today and the big-name drivers of the past? Where can you go to find out the facts on the controversy with Toyota? What are all the latest changes in scoring and rules-and how do they affect the sport? Where can you get the behind-the-scenes facts and info that make watching NASCAR even more fun?

Get the inside track on a sport that's drawing fans in record numbers. Stocked with telephone numbers and Internet addresses, this book takes you from the basics -- how to get tickets, the pluses and minuses of the various tracks, driver profiles and perspectives -- through computer games, NASCAR-related investing, and racing collectibles. Think you'd like to drive a stock car? Check out the data on 70+ programs offered by driving schools nationwide.

This is the first work to go beyond the popular myths of stock car racing to fully examine the sport's true history. NASCAR Nation: A History of Stock Car Racing in the United States details the ongoing saga of this quintessentially American pastime. Looking at the drivers, events, and teams, it positions NASCAR racing within larger social, economic, and cultural trends in an attempt to address the sport's phenomenal growth and popularity. This chronological examination of the evolution of stock car racing is the first history to go beyond the widely held myth that it was "invented" by Prohibition-era moonshiners. The book traces stock car racing history from its beginnings, to the formation of The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in 1948, through today. Of course, readers will meet the sport's many colorful personalities, including the Earnhardts, Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon (who has raked in more than $70 million in career winnings), "Fireball" Roberts, Darrell Waltrip, Daytona pioneer Bill France, and women drivers like Janet Guthrie, Louise Smith, and Jennifer Jo Cobb. While the focus is on NASCAR, the book also examines other prominent stock car racing organizations to round out its comprehensive portrait.

Learn what goes into being a contender on the Winston Cup circuit. Inside are answers to such questions as: What goes into building a stock car? How does someone get a job on a professional racing team? Plus much more about the fastest growing sport in America.

For nearly 70 years, NASCAR has been the premier sanctioning body for organized Stock Car Racing in the United States. During that time, the sport has grown from a Southern, regional series to a global brand with its races telecast in more than 100 countries around the world.

Author John Close details the earliest races of the 20th Century that laid the groundwork for the formation of NASCAR through today's modern events at mega-race stadiums across the country. Presented in an easy-to-read decade-by-decade "Fact Format," this books allows you to spend a couple of minutes or hours at a time learning about the Cars (and Trucks), Personalities, Tracks, and Milestones of NASCAR, America's most popular and attended form of motorsports. Close, a longtime NASCAR journalist, author, team member, and race-day Spotter, also includes dozens of rare and informative photos that take you from the famed "Beach Course" at Daytona to the high banks of today's NASCAR tracks. A must read for any NASCAR, Stock Car Racing, and American Motorsports fan, the book will provide hours of interesting entertainment as it uncovers rare information and statistical anomalies. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial}

Detailing 65 years of NASCAR history, this lively book explores the personalities, events, and facts every stock car racing fan should know. Important nicknames, dates, and acheivements round out this fan handbook. This guide to all things NASCAR also includes a list of must-do NASCAR-related activities, such as making a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Dale Earnhardt, exploring the hidden gems of major racing venues, and visiting lesser-known museums devoted to the sport.

In Magnolias, Sweet Tea, and Exhaust, Carole Townsend goes to ground with NASCAR, following the races at Southern tracks from one to the next, learning about the sport and the culture of NASCAR as she goes. Townsend meets and interviews top drivers as well as some of NASCAR’s rising stars, legends, team owners, pit crews, and fans. In a display of immersion journalism at its best, Townsend takes a ride in one of the cars on a track at race speed, tours the multimillion dollar garages in North Carolina, learns from mechanics, mingles with fans, and participates in the much-coveted infield camping party at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gaining behind-the-scenes access at races, she experiences up close the dedication, competition, and precision of NASCAR teams during qualifying trials and races. Some of the interviews and viewpoints included in the book are 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Rex White (the 1960 NASCAR Grand National Champion), David Ragan (winner of the 2013 Talladega May race) and his pit crew chief Jay Guy, top contender Clint Bowyer, and driver Johanna Long, the 20-year-old Nationwide Series phenomenon. Team owner Michael Waltrip and 16-year-old rising star Mason Massey also talk with Townsend about the sport’s popularity, its changing face, and today’s challenges. Townsend also covers NASCAR and its “good old boy” roots in bootlegging, as well as Southern food and hospitality as represented by that great tradition—tailgating (a sport in itself). She also discusses the fascinating evolution of NASCAR racing rules and the growing popularity of NASCAR abroad. This is a perfect book for the avid NASCAR fan as well as the more casual fan looking to learn more about this growing phenomenon! Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

In addition to a new 8 page, full-color insert, this third edition of NASCAR For Dummies offers readers information on recent changes in technology such as the "Car of Tomorrow" and updates to the information that has made previous editions of NASCAR For Dummies a must-have guide for fans of this exciting sport.