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Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing

by Kyle Petty

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283839,623 (4)None
Biography & Autobiography. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:

*A Wall Street Journal, Southern Indie, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller*
Stock-car racing star, country singer, and sports broadcaster Kyle Petty shares his familial legacy, intertwined with NASCAR's founding and history, in Swerve or Dieâ??written with Pulitzer Prize-winner Ellis Henican, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of In the Blink of an Eye.

"Born into racing royalty. The only son of NASCAR's winningest driver ever. The grandson of one of the sport's true pioneers. The nephew of our very first Hall of Fame engine builder. It's quite a family to represent, and through it all, I've somehow managed to keep being Kyle."
Kyle Petty won his very first stock-car race, the Daytona ARCA 200, in 1979 when he was eighteen. Hailed as a third-generation professional NASCAR racer, he became an instant celebrity in circles he had been around all his young life. Despite being the grandson and son of racing champions Lee Petty and Richard Petty, Kyle didn't inherit innate talent. Working in his family's North Carolina race shop from an early age, he learned all about car mechanics and maintenance long before he got behind the wheel. And although Kyle continued the family business, driving "Petty blue" colored cars emblazoned with his grandfather's #42â??a number once used by Marty Robbinsâ??his career took a different route than his forebears'.
In Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing, Kyle chronicles his life on and off the racetrack, presenting his insider's perspective of growing up throughout the sport's popular rise in American culture. In between driving and running Petty Enterprises for thirty years, Kyle took some detours into country music, voiced Cal Weathers in Pixar's Cars 3, and started his annual motorcycle Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. And when his nineteen-year-old son Adam, a fourth-generation racing Petty, tragically lost his life on the track, Kyle founded Victory Junction, a camp for children with chronic and serious medical conditions in Adam's nameâ??with help from Academy Award-winning actor and motorsports enthusiast Paul Newman.
Filled with NASCAR history, stories of his family's careers, and anecdotes about some of stock-car racing's most famous drivers, Kyle's memoir also tackles the sport's evolution, discussing how welcoming diverse racers, improving car and track safety features, and integrating green technology will benefit NASCAR's competitors and fans in the future.
Includes Photogra
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This is an excellent autobiography by Kyle Petty. Starting the book with the death of his son makes a statement about that emotion for him.
There is really not a lot of NASCAR history in this book except about the Petty family. Rightly so. This book is about KYLE and his history with NASCAR. ( )
  JReynolds1959 | Oct 4, 2022 |
A really inciteful autobiography of the life of Kyle Petty of the famous NASCAR racing Pettys. The dynasty starts with his grandfather to his dad "King Richard" and his son Adam who tragically died in a racing accident when Kyle was with his daughter in Europe. Petty evolves out of racing into country western singing, broadcasting to other career pursuits. The book will be of interest to any long time NASCAR fan. No shortage od ego on Petty;s part, ( )
  muddyboy | Sep 17, 2022 |
If there is such a thing as Nascar royalty, the Petty family belongs on the throne! From his grandfather Lee, to his father Richard (he with the cowboy hat and sunglasses), to Kyle (and his pony tail wearing, motorcycle riding, wise-cracking persona).
In this book, third generation Nascar driver Kyle Petty lays bare his soul about his experiences in the sport. From his earliest memories of growing up, to his teenage years, to his beginnings racing, to his adult years (and the horrific loss of his son, Adam, who was the fourth generation driver), all the way to the present day.
I have to admit, I was always puzzled by Kyle. He always seemed to me (a lifelong Nascar fan) to be a rather odd guy. I couldn't place his square peg in the round hole that most Nascar drivers fit into. Boy, was I wrong! The guy has done more for the sport and for charity than probably 90% of drivers!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. And especially appreciated Kyle's thoughts on where the sport is going in the future. And I am now happy that he doesn't fit into the typical mold. He's a very interesting, unique individual! We need more like him in the sport!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book. ( )
  1Randal | Apr 20, 2022 |
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Biography & Autobiography. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:

*A Wall Street Journal, Southern Indie, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller*
Stock-car racing star, country singer, and sports broadcaster Kyle Petty shares his familial legacy, intertwined with NASCAR's founding and history, in Swerve or Dieâ??written with Pulitzer Prize-winner Ellis Henican, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of In the Blink of an Eye.

"Born into racing royalty. The only son of NASCAR's winningest driver ever. The grandson of one of the sport's true pioneers. The nephew of our very first Hall of Fame engine builder. It's quite a family to represent, and through it all, I've somehow managed to keep being Kyle."
Kyle Petty won his very first stock-car race, the Daytona ARCA 200, in 1979 when he was eighteen. Hailed as a third-generation professional NASCAR racer, he became an instant celebrity in circles he had been around all his young life. Despite being the grandson and son of racing champions Lee Petty and Richard Petty, Kyle didn't inherit innate talent. Working in his family's North Carolina race shop from an early age, he learned all about car mechanics and maintenance long before he got behind the wheel. And although Kyle continued the family business, driving "Petty blue" colored cars emblazoned with his grandfather's #42â??a number once used by Marty Robbinsâ??his career took a different route than his forebears'.
In Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing, Kyle chronicles his life on and off the racetrack, presenting his insider's perspective of growing up throughout the sport's popular rise in American culture. In between driving and running Petty Enterprises for thirty years, Kyle took some detours into country music, voiced Cal Weathers in Pixar's Cars 3, and started his annual motorcycle Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. And when his nineteen-year-old son Adam, a fourth-generation racing Petty, tragically lost his life on the track, Kyle founded Victory Junction, a camp for children with chronic and serious medical conditions in Adam's nameâ??with help from Academy Award-winning actor and motorsports enthusiast Paul Newman.
Filled with NASCAR history, stories of his family's careers, and anecdotes about some of stock-car racing's most famous drivers, Kyle's memoir also tackles the sport's evolution, discussing how welcoming diverse racers, improving car and track safety features, and integrating green technology will benefit NASCAR's competitors and fans in the future.
Includes Photogra

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