Okay, I never raced and, honestly, at best I’m barely an auto mechanic. But I’m not new to auto racing. My father, Samuel, owned an auto parts store and was a truly talented mechanic who built and owned stock cars that raced at the old West Peabody Speedway in Massachusetts. We spent Saturday evenings at that track. I spent endless hours making wooden soapbox derby racers. And well before NASCAR was so popular, we spent every Memorial Day weekend glued to the radio and later the TV to hear the Indy.
In 1953, when I was just ten, my father built the first “micro-midget” race car in our hometown of Beverly. To the great annoyance of the neighbors and local police, I raced it all over town. On a straightaway at the Beverly Airport, we pushed it up toward 30—about the same speed the first racecars hit when Olds brought his racer to Ormond Beach, Florida, for the first-ever auto race in 1903.
Who would have thought an auto mechanic’s son would become a dedicated poet? But that’s what happened, and a later-life moment provided the inspiration for this new book of poems. In a conversation not long before my father passed away (at the age of 89) he confessed to me, “I never understood your poetry!” That set me on a project to write a book of short pieces—of poetry—that would appeal to everyone, particularly auto racing fans.
The book is based on my researching a lot of racing history, interviews with fans, drivers, crews, lots of time at NASCAR events. I suppose I should also admit that I indulged myself and spent way too much money fixing up a 1968 Olds Cutlass 442 convertible with a re-worked 451 engine in it. Who cares if the numbers didn’t match. Just take your foot off the brake at a stop light and you’d get whiplash leaving rubber. (It went away in that divorce...) So, I’ve also put in some of my own personal experiences because fast cars, racing, love and friendships are all intertwined as an important part of my life.
I hope these poems make an easy and enjoyable read. These poems mean what you think. There are no deep, hidden meanings here, and no, there will be no test at the end of the book! Just enjoy the sights, sounds and emotions at the heart of one of America’s most popular sports.
David B. Axelrod
