02-09-2005 | TruckSeries.com Report

Jeff Hammond's REAL MEN WORK IN THE PITS: A Life in NASCAR Racing set for February release

The newest book joining the ever-expanding NASCAR Library Collection was compiled from a career's worth of front-line race-day experiences.

FOX Sports and SPEED Channel NASCAR expert analyst Jeff Hammond is also one of the most successful crew chiefs in NASCAR history, with 43 wins and three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championships.

Now, he's also an author.

Hammond played a major role in the success of some of NASCAR's greatest legends including Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. His career put him in the record books as one of the greatest crew chiefs of all time and he remains one of auto racing's most popular figures.

In REAL MEN WORK IN THE PITS: A Life in NASCAR Racing (Rodale; February 1, 2005; $24.95) Hammond presents an engaging account of a life devoted to NASCAR and chronicles the enormous changes he's seen in the sport over his 30-year career. Filled with stories both humorous and heartbreaking, Hammond reveals an insider's view of the NASCAR career lifestyle, and why the pit road is where every race is won or lost. From the garages to the grandstands and from the pits to Victory Lane, Hammond has known both triumph and heartbreak and understands the business, people, and culture of NASCAR better than anyone. More than just a memoir, REAL MEN WORK IN THE PITS is a rare, terrific, and fun view of NASCAR racing told by one of the best and most knowledgeable voices in the game.

Hammond was hooked on racing even as a child. Growing up near Charlotte, he cut his teeth on the dirt tracks of stock car's minor leagues with a car he built from scratch. By 16, Hammond knew his true love was working on cars and soon he was a tire changer for such drivers as Walter Ballard, Elmo Langley and Frank Warren. His big break came in 1976 when he joined the team owner by racing legend Junior Johnson and started out doing everything from sweeping the shop floors to driving Johnson all over the country. But soon after, Johnson promoted Hammond to crew chief. For more than ten years they found enormous success with such great drivers as Cale Yarborough - including all three of his championship seasons - and Darrell Waltrip.

As Hammond explains, being crew chief meant doing whatever was necessary to not only win races, but keep the entire operation afloat. Aside from tending to the car, Hammond also had to run the shop and handle everything from getting uniforms laundered to making travel arrangements to organizing birthday parties. But the real fun for Hammond began the moment the flag dropped and the race began.

"It was exhausting and incredibly rewarding," Hammond writes. "But I always said that at the end of the race, I wanted to feel just as tired and wrung out as my driver. Otherwise, I didn't feel like I'd done my job. You just couldn't believe the adrenaline pump ... especially if we won."

Throughout REAL MEN WORK IN THE PITS, Hammond tells of some of the most thrilling moments in NASCAR history, many of which he witnessed personally. He writes of the epic clashes between Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, of Darrell Waltrip's great races against such fierce competitors as Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine, and of Hammond's amazing gamble that won the 1989 Daytona 500. He reveals the thrills and challenges of working in the pit, the close friendships and bitter rivalries that developed between teams, the finer points of interpreting the rules, the economics behind the game, and the intense preparation for each racing season.

He also reveals the myriad ways in which NASCAR has evolved through technology, marketing, and television deals. During his career, Hammond watched NASCAR grow from a regional obsession to a national pastime.

Hammond's last year on pit road was 2000, but since then he's been active in NASCAR as a commentator for both FOX Sports and the SPEED Channel sharing his insight and expertise. Even as today's "young gun" drivers take the spotlight and newer tracks come on-line, Hammond still loves and respects NASCAR, as much today as he did when he was a kid.

"Looking back on those days, it is sometimes hard to believe how far racing has come and how much it has changed," Hammond writes. "The money is so much bigger and the technology is so much more sophisticated. Big as it has gotten, racing is still about the cars and the drivers and the crews. Racing has changed, but a lot of it is still the same and will never change. The things about racing that got me into it when I was just a kid keep me coming back, 30 years later. Once it gets in your blood, it never leaves."

About the Author

Jeff Hammond is one of the most successful crew chiefs in NASCAR history. His teams won three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championships and 43 races. He is a commentator on FOX's NASCAR broadcasts and hosts a weekly show, "Totally NASCAR," for cable TV's SPEED Channel. Hammond is also a weekly guest on FOX Sports Radio Network's show "The Drive," hosted by Tim Ryan and C.J. Silas, and also on "Gametime." He lives in Charlotte, N.C.

REAL MEN WORK IN THE PITS is part of the NASCAR Library Collection, which brings NASCAR licensed publishing products together into one branded group that is viewable via the NASCAR.com Superstore. In 2005, the NASCAR Library Collection will release more than 30 titles, including books and magazines for both kids and adults.