Rolling Thunder Stock Car Racing Books
Jodell Lee, raised in East Tennessee by his grandfather, becomes hooked on the thrill of stock car racing and begins to compete on dirt tracks against the likes of the Pettys, Ned Jarrett, and Junior Johnson--who soon become legends. Original.
While running in races at Darlington and Daytona, Jodell Lee gets his first taste of racing success, but he soon discovers that he must balance his commitment to his racing with his new family. Original.
In the race to glory, only one man can finish first... For Jodell Lee, it's been an exciting, dizzying climb to the top of the stock car racing circuit. Gone are the days of racing round flat dirt ovals on Sunday afternoons. Stock car racing is big business now. Superspeedways have replaced the dirt tracks. Tens of thousands of fans pack the speedways for every race to watch the likes of Lee Petty, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts-and Jodell Lee-thunder around the steep-banked tracks of Darlington and Daytona and Charlotte. But it isn't just the business that's changed. So has Jodell. He now has a wife and a child, and also a sponsor. And they're all depending on him to win-expecting him to win. Is the pressure of always having to finish first beginning to take a toll on Jodell? A fiery crash could end his career...in Race to Glory-the exciting sequel to White Lightning and Road to Daytona.
Every dream has a price. Is Jodell willing to pay? Stock car racing sure has changed since the dirt track days. The speedways are bigger, and the stakes even higher. The country has changed, too. It seems like nothing is as simple as it used to be. Vietnam. Civil rights. Demonstrations in the streets. But it's been a great ride for Jodell Lee. He is happily married with two great kids, and he's been able to make a pretty good living doing what he loves: racing stock cars. Jodell is on the verge of breaking into the ranks of the racing elite. Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, and Buddy Baker. Only one thing stands in his way: the new superspeedway at Talladega. With its high banks and broad straightaways, Talladega will be the fastest racing facility in the world. It will take speeds of almost 200 mph just to qualify! Jodell has to decide. Is the dream of being the best worth the risk?
The tracks are faster. The cars, too. But the hunger for speed-and the hunt for the checkered flag-hasn't changed. Jodell Bob Lee has long since retired from driving, but the love of the sport is still like a fire in his belly. When he spots a talented young driver he can't help remembering his own glory days. It's as if he is thirty years younger and racing the dirt tracks of Tennessee all over again. Jodell has an idea: his old friend and former "wrench," Billy Winton, has put together a racing team, but so far wins have been hard to come by. Billy is looking for a driver who can do more than just chase the checkered flag. He needs a young gun who can tame the superspeedways and take the flag. A new partnership is born. But the Kid has a few obstacles in the way, namely Dale Earnhart, Jr., Adam Petty, Casey Atwood, and the other young guns who are clearly stock car racing's next wave of stars. It's a new generation of drivers, but the prize is the same: the checkered flag!
"You ready, kid?" Rob smiled. "I was ready when I crawled out of the rack this morning." The guard has definitely changed. Talented but brash young stars like Rocket Rob wilder are flexing some muscle on the super speedways. The message? If you can't hand on to first place...step aside. But no way are the wily and track-trained veterans ready to concede defeat and drive off to greener pastures. No sire. These young lions have a fight on their hands. In stock car racing, knowing how to win is not just tough talk and a pretty smile. It's not just the checkered flag either. Or the prize money and the endorsements. It's not the fame. Or the thousands of cheering fans chanting your name. It's the thrill. And without the thrill, you might as well be dead.
Hot young rookie "Rocket" Rob Wilder has burst onto the racing scene in a big way, but that first Cup victory has still so far eluded him. But finally Victory Lane is in sight. Wilder's leading the pack at Indy in one of the season's biggest races when, in an awful instant, his racing luck and his magical first year in big-time competition takes a sudden, disastrous turn. For the first time in his fledgling career, the amazingly talented driver must confront his own self-doubts . . . and serious injury. Does he have the stomach-and the steel-to fight his way back to the head of the pack? If he does, he will have to prove it on the high banks of Talladega, the world's most intimidating racetrack. The engines are hot. The flag is about to drop. Time for talk is over. If Rob is going to win, he'll have to stay on the throttle.