Full Throttle : 2004 Nascar Preview from Daytona to Darlington

by Editors of Sports Illustrated

• ISBN13: 9781932273175
• ISBN10: 1932273174
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: Time Home Entertainment Inc

Summary

Why Do We love NASCAR? Maybe it's because it is a sport that loves us back, working overtime to engage its fans in many ways. Foremost among these is the racing itself, with its split-second, high-decibel, tire-screeching dance of risk and reward, as a collection of larger-than-life stars bang, bump and feud at jaw-dropping speeds on the high-banked ovals at Darlington and Talladega. There are, of course, other reasons. Unlike most sports, in which fans can see only dim reflections of themselves -- when was the last time you hit a 450-foot home run, or carded a 63 at Medinah, or tomahawked a dunk down on Shaq's head? -- NASCAR is at once death-defying and prosaic. When was the last time you drove?

Author Biography

Jeff MacGregor is a special contributor to Sports Illustrated who writes frequently about NASCAR Darrell Waltrip is a three-time NASCAR champion who now works as a broadcast analyst for FOX Sports

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
America's Track	p. 8
The Beach Boys: The unveiling of Daytona Speedway in 1959 was a colossal moment	p. 10
Fights to the Finish: SI's favorite Daytona races, filled with brawls, stalls and close calls	p. 14
2004 Season Preview	p. 20
Generation Nextel: Goodbye Winston Cup, hello Nextel--and plenty of changes, too	p. 22
Race by Race: A guide to every race in 2004, with commentary by Darrell Waltrip	p. 26
2004 Scouting Reports: How we rank the drivers going into the inaugural Nextel Cup season	p. 46
2003 Season in Pictures	p. 70
A Scrapbook from the Season: A look back at the greatest, most exciting moments of 2003	p. 72
Nascar by the Numbers: A special goodbye to the Winston Cup and Pontiac eras	p. 90
Supporting Cast	p. 92
Fortunate Soul: Jack Roush cheated death and scaled racing's highest peak	p. 94
3 Day Weekend: What does it take to win? Ryan Newman's pit crew demonstrates	p. 100
The First Family	p. 108
The Business of Being Dale: Dale Earnhardt Sr. created an empire unrivaled in NASCAR	p. 110
Junior Achievement: The emergence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave racing more than solace	p. 118
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