Giangola book focuses on the sport's heartbeat: fans

The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans tells stories of the sport's fans -- from those who travel like migratory birds thousands of miles to the track to terminally-ill children clinging to heroes who bring true joy. Readers will meet older fans who watched races on the sands of Daytona Beach when drivers made their real money hauling moonshine, learn what motivates today's super fans, and spend time with celebrities bitten by the NASCAR bug.

Andrew Giangola, author of The Weekend Starts on Wednesday, is director of business communications for NASCAR and oversees "off-the-sports pages" coverage for the sport. He offers his insight on the book and NASCAR Nation:

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Q: Why did you write this book?

A: Fan loyalty is obviously big thing in this sport. It's what we're selling to sponsors and the glue that keeps the sport going. In my NASCAR PR job, I had been promoting the so-called "avid" fans, but it struck me I didn't fully understand who they are and why they're so devoted.

Research points to tens of millions of passionate NASCAR fans. But using an abstract number to try to describe a major group of Americans is like describing a rose by saying there are 270,000 species of flowers. I needed to walk the track in their shoes, eat barbecue from their grills, and listen to their stories at their campfires.

I proposed a book getting into the lives of these fans to Jim Hunter, who runs corporate communications for NASCAR. Jim immediately said, "Androooo, that's an idea Bill Jr. would love!"

Q: Do people read books anymore? Why not a blog or a column on this site?

A: Yeah, who has the time, right? There are so many distractions today. It struck me, I've been hearing a lot about the wii Mario Brothers. As a kid, I lived in an Italian neighborhood. When we said we were going to play with the Mario brothers, it two real kids -- the Mario brothers -- and no computers were involved.

The point is, there's still something special about turning a page. Since scrawling on bathroom walls as a kid, I've wanted to be a "published author" of a real book, made from a tree, with a dedication and table of contents and an epilogue and an index.

The publisher gave a very nice surprise, printing it on heavy, glossy stock, like a coffee table book. But this is smaller; maybe an Expresso Table book? The nice stock makes it dense and heavy, like a brick. If you're reading the book on the train, and trouble breaks out, you can use it as a weapon.

Q: How would you describe The Weekend Starts on Wednesday?

John Hyland with Rick Hendrick

A: It's about 92,000 words, some more than one syllable. To be serious, this is a 300-page love letter to NASCAR fans. NASCAR wanted to honor these fans by telling their stories. Some are of resilience and triumph of human spirit -- like Wessa Miller, the so-called "Lucky Penny Girl" who reached up from her wheelchair to give her coin to Dale Earnhardt, helping him finally win the Daytona 500 after years of futility and heartbreak. Wessa was given three days to live and is now 18 yrs old.

There's Pat Hickey, a Jeff Gordon fanatic, who had a fear of heights but scaled Mount Everest and took the NASCAR flag there. Cpl. John Hyland lost a leg in Iraq, was given a hero's welcome by Rick Hendrick, and says the injury is a chance to hit the "reset" button on life.

Then there are fans who are just flat-out funny, like Tireman, who goes to the track naked save a Goodyear Eagle around his waist, and Junior's Baby 88 Girl, an African-American woman from San Diego full of smiles and spunk, head over heels in love with Dale Jr. She puts on a nurse's outfit when Junior crashes to send vibes making sure he's not hurt.

Q: How did you find these fans?

Craig Reda carved his tribute from a giant hunk of stinky cottonwood.

A: I was very fortunate to get great leads from people at teams, tracks, in the media, and here at NASCAR. Some fans I found through kismet when wandering the infield. It was marvelous to stumble upon Kenny Gregory's Fathead display of drivers mounted in the infield at Pocono. In Michigan, I spotted an amazing "3" on the top of his bus Craig Reda had carved from a giant hunk of stinky cottonwood. We hit it off immediately, and I slept in his bus that night.

The following night, Craig's wife Jackie led me to Bob's Party Bus, this amazing Technicolor psychedelic bus. Its owner, Kevin Kent, gave me 3D glasses for a tour and recounted his remarkable life of sorrow and sweet redemption. The stories sometimes came in bursts, so I put those two Michigan fans back to back in the book.

Q: You believe you found the "biggest" NASCAR fans?

A: The amazing thing is there are thousands of other stories to be told. Some of the fans in the book think about NASCAR 24/7 and go to every possible race. Others like Kevin Costner or Dr. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, "The NASCAR Science lady," have unique views and get involved in a special way. The fans featured are simply the most interesting and compelling folks I've had the good fortune to come across.

Q: Did you learn anything in this endeavor?

A: There are a lot of stereotypes about NASCAR fans. I want to perpetuate a new one, a true one: They are, at their core, very good people. NASCAR fans are decent, generous, kind, charitable Americans. They like to have fun. And they want you to join the party. (Continued)