... Today's Top Drivers
2006 Edition
Ben White and Nigel Kinrade
Publication date: OUT NOW!
RRP: £12.99, Paperback, ISBN: 0-7603-2404-2
For UK race fans, Michael Waltrip probably epitomises our image of a NASCAR racer. The Kentuckian is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 15 stones. He makes a Formula Three driver look like a jockey. But then NASCAR is big, bold and brash. Not all the drivers are built like a barn door. Mark Martin is just 5 feet 6 inches and weighs under 10 stones. It hasn't stopped him winning more than $1 million a year since 1989. Last year, he almost reached $6m.
This excellent new edition, by Ben White and Nigel Kinrade, is packed with information that shows how different the USA racing scene is compared to the UK. Some drivers are legendary – Mark Martin has driven for the same team for 17 years. Others are relative newcomers. Kyle Busch is just 20 years old yet already has two NASCAR wins to his name (and earned over $4m last year). Some drivers have been consistently successful. Jeff Gordon, for example, has won the series four times since 1992. Robby Gordon, by contrast, has never finished in the top ten at the end of the season and has secured just three race wins since 1991. This lack of success hasn't prevented him amassing in excess of $13m in prize money. In Europe, he'd have become another ex-driver by now! For 2005, he ran his own team – while still driving in 29 races.
There's another difference between the UK and the USA. How many British series can you think of that have 36 rounds? And have you ever seen a driver do a back flip after winning? This acrobatic feat is Carl Edwards' trademark.
Consider this book as a behind-the-scene pit pass, look at the hard-driving elite of stock car racing and immerse yourself in all the action of the NASCAR Nextel Cup season, from garage and pit road to finish line and winning circle. Includes the legendary veterans, hot newcomers to Rookie of the year, profiling each drivers career, year by year statistics and action packed photography both on and off track.
It really is a fascinating insight into NASCAR drivers and the American racing scene, this book is unbeatable. The Americans know how to put on a show!
Authors: Ben White is a photographer, an editor for NASCAR Illustrated, and a well-known authority on NASCAR racing.
Nigel Kinrade has been photographing NASCAR since the early 1990s and is one of the most prolific shooters on the scene today. He is a regular contributor to Racecar magazine and Nascar illustrated. Both live in the USA.
