Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Then Junior Said to Jeff...

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I DIDN'T WRITE  the NASCAR book Then Junior Said to Jeff..., one of a series of books by Triumph Publishing. Jim McLaurin and the late David Poole wrote it in 2006. (NOTE: You can click on the name of the book earlier in this paragraph to buy it.)

But I updated it in early 2012, and I'm listed as a co-author.

This is how it came about: Triumph Publishing wanted to update the book, but David Poole had died a few years ago and Jim McLaurin felt he was too long out of racing. So Jim suggested I do it.

The book isn't just about Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Poole and McLaurin wrote about everyone from Junior Johnson to Dale Earnhardt to Darrell Waltrip and more. I've added stories about Tim Flock and Jocko FlockoCale YarboroughSterling MarlinTony Stewart and more.

Most of the stories are funny. Buddy Baker, a born storyteller, is a good source of funny stories. Some of the stories — like the one about Mark Martin and former car owner Bill Davis — are interesting.

Poole and McLaurin did a wonderful job, and I hope I made the book better.

A couple of months ago, I went through the galley sheets, looking for mistakes. The new cover is cool — they added the cars of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the top — and the book came out in October.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK