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:

• Order your copy today

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.

Q: Is it possible the fans were being nice to you because you worked for NASCAR? Maybe they expected you to be able to get them Dale Jr.'s autograph.

A: Put it this way -- outside of NASCAR, show me a place with as many empty beer bottles and as few fights. There is a NASCAR Nation out there, and as Kevin Costner says in the book, it's a communal, beautiful place where everyone's welcome.

Q: You're showing sides NASCAR Nation that wouldn't be expected in a book with the NASCAR logo on it. True?

A: That's exactly the point. Burrowing into individual fan stories gets to the broader truths of the sport. When you hear NASCAR is returning to its roots, that's not a bunch of empty words. No one wants a 300-page press release. This is a respectful, loving portrait of our fans. We do tackle issues like the impact of Dale Earnhardt's death and how fans feel about the realignment of races. When Mike Wright, a trucker from Virginia, sits alone in the stands at Darlington Raceway, balling his eyes out after the final Labor Day race at his favorite track, it shows the bonds our fans have in a very vivid way. And as you'll see, it shows how fans have adapted.

Q: Do you have a favorite fan story?

A: Oh, that's really so hard to say. NASCAR fans have so much hope and heart. I've come to truly admire these down-to-earth, humble, generous people who let me into their lives.

Q: Let's talk about one fan in particular. You end the chapter on CPL. John Hyland, the wounded soldier who also sings opera, by saying you'd get him to sing the national anthem at a race. How's that going?

A: I went out on a limb there. As David Lee Roth said, "Sometimes you have to lead with your face." If Cpl. Hyland doesn't sing, it's my fault for not trying hard enough, not being clever enough in the approach. John is a great American hero who can sing. He deserves it, and I'll either make it happen or piss off a lot of people with relentless calls and emails. There's interest, so stay tuned.

Q: You spent a lot of time in the infield. What's the funniest thing that happened?

A: One fan dared me to find a single person not having a good time. He was right; I didn't. There's a laugh a minute out there. Getting my "rookie stripe" at Michigan was unforgettably funny. It's like being a pledging freshman -- older classmen are ordering you around with arrogance and impunity, making you fetch their beers. Among many great experiences, one that sticks out is at Pocono. I had a generous bushy head of hair and two kids were tagging along, calling me "Boris Said." The boys are giving me an infield tour of all the big party spots that night, casually asking, "Hey Boris, are people at NASCAR allowed to have a favorite driver?" Funny kids.

Q: There are kids hanging out in the infield?

A: Oh yeah, I was surprised at all the bikes and skateboards out there. These two kids, Kyle and TJ, were rolling a Jeff Gordon tire around, trying to sell it for 25 dollars. They bought it for $15. Smart kids.

Q: Sounds like this was a fun book to write?

A: Someone once said great writers never really enjoy writing, only amateurs enjoy writing. I enjoyed writing the book, so I must be a rank amateur. After sleeping in the fan buses and heading to meet news crews to "go to work," I was definitely rank.

Q: I won't ask any more about that, but did you have any regrets in writing the book?

A: Yes, I heard Pete Yorn's song recorded with Scarlett Johansson, and it got me thinking, how utterly brilliant, I should have taken her on as a co-author. Easy path to the talk shows, you know? Truthfully, my regret is lack of time. You hit "send" on the manuscript, and the perfect sentence finally appears in your head, never to make it in. Like many authors who aren't spending full days writing at a beach house tapping keys to the rhythm of the pounding waves, I wish there had been more hours to spend on the project.

I was interviewing a fan from the west coast at midnight, and my wife asked when I was going to talk to her instead of NASCAR fans for this alleged book without a publisher at that point. I said in my best Ralph Kramden voice, "That's it! You're out of the Acknowledgements!" She replied, a bit like Alice, "The Acknowledgements! Are you kidding? That's my punishment? No one reads the Acknowledgments!"

Outside of celebrity fans like Costner, Miss USA Kristen Dalton, Brian Williams and Mario Batali, most are very ordinary people, never been in the newspaper, turn right when they get on the airplane. Here I'm telling their stories in a book that in 25 years is going to wind up in some garage sale next to this ancient device known as the iPod. There's a responsibility to get it right while being interesting and readable. You spend time with someone and you pick up their rhythms, their way of talking, their world view. I hated that in some cases I only had a few hours with each fan. As writer, can translate that person's essence to the printed page much easier with time, which I didn't have a lot of given my day job.

Q: So you resorted to tactics like sleeping in fans' buses in the infield? Is that true?

A: Oh yes, the "foghorn snoring incident" and all. I slept on a few buses, after being invited by fans who I'd met only hours earlier. These are truly the most welcoming and friendly people in the world. Everything in the book is true.

Q: The fan buried at Talladega?

A: Got it from a good source.

Q: Even when you went to a black tie Awards dinner with holes in your tuxedo -- so you colored your legs black with a marker?

A: Yep. I have a healthy imagination. But even I couldn't make that one up.

The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans is available in the NASCAR.COM Superstore.