Description
Book SynopsisA sociologist writing for a general audience challenges myths about NASCAR racing, considers the significance of its rise in popularity, and analyzes issues of gender, region, ethnicity, and social class in stock car racing.
Trade Review“This book’s personal impressions don’t take you behind the pit wall—they take you into the stands, where the average folks watch the race. Wright combines the interests of the academic and the common race fan for an uncommon vision of NASCAR.”—Scott Huler, author of
A Little Bit Sideways: One Week Inside a NASCAR Winston Cup Race Team“You don’t have to be a racing fan to appreciate great sports writing, and even folks who don’t know Dale Earnhardt from Dale Evans will savor this professor’s account of his unlikely enthusiasm for NASCAR. But, if you are a fan, you’ll probably like this book even more. Wright dispels a number of myths and helps us to understand why stock-car racing has become America's most popular sport.”—John Shelton Reed, coauthor of
1001 Things Everyone Should Know about the SouthTable of ContentsPrelude: On the Road to Charlotte 1
1. Car Culture and the American Dream 17
Daytona Pilgrimage 46
2. Deconstructing NASCAR 57
Back Home Again in Indiana 87
3. Racin' Basics 98
Lost in the Land of Cotton 132
4. The NASCAR Subculture 144
Short-Track Showdown 170
5. The Yankee Invasion 180
Nantahala Interlude 204
6. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms 217
Grand Finale in Atlanta 254
7. We Are Family 263
Notes 281
Index 292
