While I have followed NASCAR for many years, I have seen many more races this year as it was the first sport to resume after most sports shut down in March 2020. As a result of watching more races, I have been looking for more books on the sport. I found this biography of Jeff Gordon and was pleased with how easy an read it was. Here is my review.
Title/Author:
“Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive and Destiny" by Joe Garner
Tags:
Auto racing, NASCAR, biography
Publish date:
November 22, 2016
Length:
192 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
When NASCAR became more of a national sport instead of a niche in the southeastern United States in the 1990's, one of the star drivers who helped this mainstream push was Jeff Gordon. With his good looks, polite demeanor, upbringing in a region outside of the hub of NASCAR and oh, yes, his success on the track, he was a fan favorite and well-respected by his competitors. This book by Joe Garner does a nice job of recapping Gordon's upbringing and his career.
Most sports biographies that cover an athlete's upbringing will talk about the people and events that made the athlete realize that his or her destiny was in their sport. This book is no different in that respect as Gordon's early entry into racing on dirt tracks with small winged vehicles are well-covered. He gives a lot of credit to his mother Carol and stepfather John for supporting him when doing this both emotionally and financially. Despite his small physical stature, team owners and crew chiefs were taking notice of him before he settled on pursuing a career in NASCAR, even though his early dreams were about him racing at the Indianapolis 500.
This part of the book, and subsequent chapters in which Carol and John are mentioned are the most the book contains about Gordon's personal life. While his two marriages and the children he is raising with his second wife are covered, this book is much more about Gordon's racing career than it is about his personal life. There is little negative coverage about his career as well. Yes, some of the harder parts, such as when Gordon left a smaller team to sign with one of the big names in the sport, Hendrick Motorsports, are covered, but overall this book reads like a fan book. Of course, given the success Gordon had in his career, with four NASCAR championships, it is easy to see why this would read as such.
There are plenty of pictures throughout the book as well, giving the reader a nice visual recap of Gordon's career as well as a decent read. The pictures in the Kindle version, which is what I read, can be small at times but per other reviewers who have read the hardcover edition, it is a coffee table type book in which the pictures especially stand out.
This book is great for two types of readers – relatively new fans of
NASCAR who only know of Gordon being a broadcaster for Fox's coverage of the
sport or for his biggest fans. The
former will learn much about his racing career before broadcasting, the latter
will relive many great memories. Other
fans who have followed the sport for a long time won't learn a lot of new
material but will still have fun reading about one of the biggest names in the
sport.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
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