White Lightning: Rolling Thunder Stock Car Racing
by Don Keith / Kent Wright

Publisher:  Tor Books
ISBN:  0812575067

White Lightning, a stock car racing novel from authors Kent Wright and DonKeith, is first in a new series of stock car fiction from Tor books called RollingThunder. This book gives the reader a realistic look inside the early days of stockcar racing in America and the type of men who got involved in racing.

Set in the mid 1950s, Kent Wright and Don Keith paint a rich picture of Jodell Bob Lee, his cousin Joe and their friend Bubba as they make the transition from Saturday night moonshiners to Sunday afternoon race car drivers on the dusty tracks of the Carolinas. Along the way, werun into Ned Jarrett, Ralph Earnhardt, Richard and Lee Petty, and young hotshot driverJunior Johnson. New NASCAR fans as well as seasoned NASCAR veterans will enjoy this bookas it provides insight into the roots of NASCAR racing.

One feature I particularly liked about this book was that our hero does not automatically win. Too often NASCAR fiction follows a predictable format, the hero starts the race, overcomessome form of adversity, and then wins the race on the last lap. This refreshing book leansmore towards realism as the authors are building a foundation for an entire series of booksbased on the history of NASCAR.

This fast-paced read will leave you wondering what happens next. I really enjoyed this novel andcan't wait for the next book in the Rolling Thunder series, Road To Daytona, to be released later this year.

Steve McCormick, your Guide for NASCAR Racing