The Earnhardts: A Biography

by Gerry Souter

Overview

The story of NASCAR's preeminent family and the multibillion dollar sport they helped create.

From mid-century dirt tracks to today's super speedways, The Earnhardts: A Biography tells the remarkable story of a racing family—Dale, his father Ralph, and son Dale Jr.—whose careers span the full history of NASCAR and whose accomplishments define this unique American motorsport.

Drawing on extensive research, including interviews with friends, family, and sports writers covering the NASCAR scene, Gerry Souter follows the Earnhardts' story from Ralph's short track racing in cars he built himself to Dale's record-setting career and shocking death to Dale Jr.'s emergence as one of the sport's most popular figures today. Through the lives of the Earnhardts, and their unmatched legacy of hard work and victory, readers see American stock car racing evolve from its rural Southern roots into a nationwide phenomenon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216076902
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/23/2009
Series:	Greenwood Biographies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	168
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Gerry Souter is a full time author-historian of more than 40 books.
Gerry Souter is a full time author-historian of more than 40 books.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Timeline: Events in the Lives of the Earnhardts
Chapter 1 The Beginning
Chapter 2 NASCAR Starts Cutting Its Teeth
Chapter 3 The Legacy Begins
Chapter 4 NASCAR—Through the 1950s
Chapter 5 The Learning Curve
Chapter 6 Winding Down and Winding Up
Chapter 7 Tough Times—Kicking in the Door
Chapter 8 Tie Your Pennant to a Petty
Chapter 9 Growth Pains—Pushing the Limit
Chapter 10 Ironhead
Chapter 11 A Volatile Time for NASCAR
Chapter 12 Growing Up At Last
Chapter 13 The Big Business of NASCAR—1980s and Beyond
Chapter 14 Fortunes Turn Around
Chapter 15 The Intimidator Takes Command
Chapter 16 Inheriting the Chalice
Chapter 17 The Legacy
Further Reading
Index
Photo essay appears following page

Editorial Reviews

Drawing on interviews with friends, family, and sports writers, the book tells the story of how American stock car racing was born and how an American racing family won, lost, and won again to create three legends in the sport. A timeline of events and B&W photos are included. Like other books in the series, the biography is fact-filled and entertaining, written in an accessible style for high school and up.” —Reference & Research Book News

From the Publisher