Review of “Full Throttle”

Keeping with my policy of reading books about the sport I am attending when traveling to and from an event, I started this book when I attended the NASCAR Cup Series race in New Hampshire last weekend.  It was long but quite entertaining. Here I’m review of the biography of NASCAR legend Curtis Turner. 

Title/Author: “Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner” by Robert Edelstein

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Curtis Turner was one on the early superstars of NASCAR racing. He has been called by some the “Babe Ruth of NASCAR’ with the many victories he had in the sport’s early years. This biography by Robert Edelstein is a testimony to not only his racing career but also to Curtis’ flamboyant lifestyle.

In those days of the sport, drivers did not win large purses and had to beg for sponsors or others to put up the investment for the cars. As a result, they also had to earn a living elsewhere and Curtis did so in the timber business. It gave him a nice income and while he didn’t immediately squander it (and his race earnings), it did give him the means to live an extravagant lifestyle.

This included legendary parties at Daytona every year, a small airplane (which he was flying when it crashed and killed him in 1970), and other business ventures, not all of which was successful. The book covers these adventures, especially his flights, with as much detail and entertainment as it does Turner’s racing career.

One aspect that covers both of these areas is Turner’s vision of building a speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina to rival that of the one in Daytona built under the guidance of NASCAR founder Bill France. This was part of the complicated cared relationship Turner and France had. While Turner’s fearless driving style won him many races and fans (and filled grandstands at France’s races), when Turner wanted to form a union for the drivers (as he was trying to secure funds from the Teamsters for his Charlotte track) he was blackballed from NASCAR.

All of this and more is told in a very good storytelling fashion by the author. It was not only very entertaining but also enlightening as a reader will, like me, learn much about the early days of the sport.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Full-Throttle-Nascar-Legend-Curtis/dp/1585677515/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0