Rating: 
Summary: A must read for any NASCAR fan
Review: "Know your roots" has always been one of my favorite sayings. When it comes to NASCAR, not many fans are aware of just how deep and strong those roots are. This book helps to change that.From the days of running moonshine in the South, to the days of multi-million dollar sponsorship deals. From early stars who drove with pet monkeys in their cars, to racing legends who shall never be forgotten. "The Wildest Ride" takes you on a journey through NASCAR's history, and shows you how it has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world today. You'll read about colorful characters like Tim Flock, Joe Weatherly and Glenn "Fireball" Roberts - and modern legends like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. You'll celebrate in Victory Lane, and mourn with the entire racing world after the death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500. This book is a must read for any NASCAR fan. It is the story of the foundation of the sport which we all enjoy. Without this story our sport would never be where it is today...
Rating:
Summary: A must read for any NASCAR fan
Review: "Know your roots" has always been one of my favorite sayings. When it comes to NASCAR, not many fans are aware of just how deep and strong those roots are. This book helps to change that. From the days of running moonshine in the South, to the days of multi-million dollar sponsorship deals. From early stars who drove with pet monkeys in their cars, to racing legends who shall never be forgotten. "The Wildest Ride" takes you on a journey through NASCAR's history, and shows you how it has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world today. You'll read about colorful characters like Tim Flock, Joe Weatherly and Glenn "Fireball" Roberts - and modern legends like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. You'll celebrate in Victory Lane, and mourn with the entire racing world after the death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500. This book is a must read for any NASCAR fan. It is the story of the foundation of the sport which we all enjoy. Without this story our sport would never be where it is today...
Rating:
Summary: The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR
Review: Excellent book, takes the reader behind the scenes of the sport of NASCAR. The information of how drivers got into the business and the interactions between the drivers and the France family, give the reader an great insight into the sport. Joe Menzer tells how the drivers began the sport which the France family made such a sucess and puts the reader where the drivers were and are. Really liked the information about how the drivers got the financial help needed to keep a car going, as well as how the corporate contributions laid the foundation for the sport. Great book
Rating:
Summary: The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR
Review: Excellent book, takes the reader behind the scenes of the sport of NASCAR. The information of how drivers got into the business and the interactions between the drivers and the France family, give the reader an great insight into the sport. Joe Menzer tells how the drivers began the sport which the France family made such a sucess and puts the reader where the drivers were and are. Really liked the information about how the drivers got the financial help needed to keep a car going, as well as how the corporate contributions laid the foundation for the sport. Great book
Rating:
Summary: The perfect primer for new fans; a keepsake for veteran ones
Review: First of all, I want to thank the many, many folks who have offered high praise for The Wildest Ride -- from reviewers at such fine publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Publishers Weekly, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the Rocky Moutain News and several other newspapers and magazines to the legions of readers who have visited with me at book signings, via e-mail or simply in passing.
Secondly, I want to make it clear that I don't normally respond to negative reviews, which, rare though they may have been in my experiences, also seemingly are inevitable. It's America, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Yet I do feel a need to respond when someone questions my motivation for writing a book or my methods for researching and writing one. So I am taking this opportunity to address the previous reviewer, who ignored the facts while attacking me personally and, of course, anonymously. I spent 15 months dilgently researching and writing The Wildest Ride; I did countless "original interviews" with sources that included many of the greatest names in NASCAR history; I stand by this book as a great primer for new fans and a keepsake for veteran ones, who may have heard many of the stories previously but possibly have forgotten some of the details or maybe have not heard them from the angle in which I presented them.
I hope all who read The Wildest Ride enjoy it for exactly what it is -- a truly wild ride through the fascinating history of America's fastest-growing spectator sport, with a hard look ahead to the future and the issues that face the sport if it wants to continue its phenomenal growth. I would even present the argument that because I am a relative newcomer as an observer of the sport, I believe I was able to offer an unbiased view on some of the unsavory aspects of NASCAR that have littered both its past and its present, while at the same time celebrating its greatest achievements. In other words, I attempted to be honest and totally objective. That is a fact with which no one can argue.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh come on, did you start watching races five minutes ago
Review: I can fully appreciate that the writer was not a long time NASACR fan but was a sports reporter who cam to like NASCAR --- but he should have put more effort into research and reporting --- Menzer rehashes stories all real fans have know for years, all the information he presents has been written time and time again -- as a sports reporter he should have and could have done some orginal interviews ---
this book seems a weak attempt by a trendiod sports writer wanting to make a buck off fans and he doesn't do a good job of entertaining or providing information.
I am very glad the writer has discovered that NASCAR is a sport but not glad enough to feel okay making a contribution to him as a charity --- which is what buying this book feels like. . .
any real fan will already know all the information in it --- and someone who wants a view of the sport can do better than this poorly written drivel
Menzer should go back to sports he cares about and write his garbage about them
Rating: 
Summary: Accessible & Entertaining
Review: I'd have to agree with points made by both of the previous reviewers. Joe Menzer has done new interviews, and some of the sources he's chosen offer fresh insights, particularly Max Muhleman's thoughts. It's also a very concise, reader-friendly encapsulation of the sport's history and recent developments. So, if someone were looking for an accessible, entertaining introduction to NASCAR, especially its early history, I'd recommend the book. However, if you're very familiar with NASCAR, its legends, and their stories, you might find some of the things he discusses to be old news or slightly cliched. But if you've never heard the anecdotes before, then they're extremely funny. What would be interesting is a more thorough (yet not dry) history that would discuss aspects of NASCAR usually eclipsed by the moonshining myths and the Southern stereotypes. A treatment beyond just footnotes and asides of NASCAR's diverse roots and participants(Yankees and mid-Westerners like Lorenzen, Marcis, Kiekhaefer, for ex.) along with the Southern legends. It seems that historians to date reinforce a self-referential past.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe a rehash?
Review: I'm a new NASCAR fan. I happened to buy this book at full bookstore price. I also bought a used version of Peter Golenbock's "American Zoom". I read Joe Menzer's book first. Loved it. Then I read Golenbock's 1993 book and read many of the same stories, almost word-for-word, about NASCAR.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe a rehash?
Review: I'm a new NASCAR fan. I happened to buy this book at full bookstore price. I also bought a used version of Peter Golenbock's "American Zoom". I read Joe Menzer's book first. Loved it. Then I read Golenbock's 1993 book and read many of the same stories, almost word-for-word, about NASCAR.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe a rehash?
Review: I'm a new NASCAR fan. I happened to buy this book at full bookstore price. I also bought a used version of Peter Golenbock's "American Zoom". I read Joe Menzer's book first. Loved it. Then I read Golenbock's 1993 book and read many of the same stories, almost word-for-word, about NASCAR.
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