St. Dale Books

The Dale Earnhardt Memorial Pilgrimage is the last trip Judge Bekasu Holifield would have chosen for her vacation. But this year it's her sister Justine's turn to make their plans, and soon Bekasu's boarding a silver cruise bus for a tour of Southern stock car speedways with Justine, their cousin Cayle, and a group of strangers--all of whose lives have somehow been touched by the legendary racer they never met. . . For Shane McKee, the tour is a chance to get married at the speedway with his hero there in spirit. New York stockbroker Terence Palmer has made the trip to honor his only link with the father he never knew. Rev. Bill Knight, whose hobby is medieval pilgrimages, agrees to chaperone a dying child--and finds himself on a strangely familiar journey of faith and devotion. Bekasu begins connecting with her fellow travelers in unexpected ways. But she's not the only one. As the bus rolls down an uncertain road, prayers will be answered, secrets will be revealed, bonds will be forged, and no one will leave this journey of self-discovery quite the same. "One of McCrumb's finer achievements." -- Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News "A wild ride! Sharyn McCrumb has done it again." --Ward Burton, winner of the Daytona 500

This hilarious, fast-paced novel follows an all-female NASCAR team, sponsored by Vagenya, a new product that claims to be "like Viagra, but for women," and their male driver, Badger Jenkins, a sexy bad boy who takes them all for a wild ride. Reprint.

When a NY Times best-selling author and a NASCAR driver team up to write a Southern novel, the result is a literary match made in heaven. She has skills in description and characterization. He has life experience and the technical knowledge of racing. When aspiring NASCAR driver Camber Berkley wrecks his car and --literally-- crashes a funeral in the small town of Judas Grove, the locals consider him an answer to prayer. The deceased was an elderly NASCAR fan with no living relatives, and his will stipulates that the money be given to one of the village churches--to the one with the faster pastor. The ministers are to borrow stock cars from regular drivers at the county speedway, and race for the $2 million legacy. There's a problem. None of the ministers knows how to race. But when a real, live NASCAR driver turns up in the county jail, charged with reckless driving, their problem is solved. Camber is sentenced to community service, teaching ten middle-aged ministers how to race stock cars. For Camber, the cynical sophisticate, this sojourn in a small town will repay his teaching with life lessons in faith, trust and friendship. The ministers find that racing is a test of skill as well as faith, and, when Camber's life is suddenly in jeopardy, they are required to produce a small miracle--with the help of another jail inmate, a mysterious Mexican named Jèsus. Will the best man win? Only God knows. Sharyn McCrumb and Adam Edwards have written a wise and wonderful novel about faith, small town values, and the miracle of friendship. Filled with humor, affectionate portraits of Southern characters, and the breakneck suspense of stock car racing, Faster Pastor is a blessing to readers of Southern literature.