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

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

  • Downloads：2504
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-07 06:19:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kyle Petty
  • ISBN：B09JMXDH4T
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Katie ，

This book offers great behind-the-scenes information about NASCAR from one of the best drivers out there。 The Petty family is widely known， even outside of racing， and anyone who wants to know more about NASCAR should read this book。 This book is written exactly as if Kyle Petty were talking to me - some people will love this style。 I didn't love it， but it was still very readable。 This book offers great behind-the-scenes information about NASCAR from one of the best drivers out there。 The Petty family is widely known， even outside of racing， and anyone who wants to know more about NASCAR should read this book。 This book is written exactly as if Kyle Petty were talking to me - some people will love this style。 I didn't love it， but it was still very readable。 。。。more

Kelly ，

In 1994 I lost my father， I was only eight years old at the time， so I don't have a lifetime of memories。 What I do know is that my father loved his children， he loved mechanics and he loved NASCAR。 In fact， he was buried with our TV remote because my mom said he'd still be able to watch NASCAR in Heaven。 Kyle Petty was born into NASCAR Royalty。 His grandfather helped create the sport and the wealth of knowledge Kyle has is rooted in the fact that racing became the family business。 First with hi In 1994 I lost my father， I was only eight years old at the time， so I don't have a lifetime of memories。 What I do know is that my father loved his children， he loved mechanics and he loved NASCAR。 In fact， he was buried with our TV remote because my mom said he'd still be able to watch NASCAR in Heaven。 Kyle Petty was born into NASCAR Royalty。 His grandfather helped create the sport and the wealth of knowledge Kyle has is rooted in the fact that racing became the family business。 First with his grandfather， then his father and uncle， and eventually his son， Adam。 While most teenagers would rather hang out with their friends， Kyle was devoting his time and energy into the family shop。 It was there he learned everything from changing tires to sealing the body of a race car。 Like most things， it took time for Kyle to hone his skills on the track but his record speaks for itself。 This book will give you a healthy dose of NASCAR knowledge。 From the things you may know to stories you'd likely never heard。 However， there are also other stories， harder to read stories。 Like the death of Kyle's brother-in-law and then his own son。 Admittedly， I cried a few times reading this book。 I will never rate a memoir under 5 stars because let's be real， who am I to judge someone's life experience， but Kyle Petty's Swerve or Die would have had 5 stars anyway。 It is well written， well paced， and captivating。 I grew up a little over an hour south of Daytona so I know a bit about NASCAR， but not a lot and yet I never felt I couldn't understand what I was reading。 My favorite section of the book was about the establishment of Victory Junction。 Word of advice， don't tell Kyle Petty he can't do something。 Not only will he do it， but he'll do it better than you ever expected。 This book is for the NASCAR fan， it's also for anyone who loves cars and racing， who has suffered a tragic loss and want to know they're not alone and about coming out on the other side。 Thank you St。 Martin's Press for gifting me a copy to review。 These thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more

Jeanne ，

Kyle Petty was the third generation racer in the Petty dynasty。 In a family where weekends are for watching races and a son who is a walking encyclopedia for anything racing from F1 on down the line I don't feel that after reading this I know anymore about Kyle than I did before。 I always thought that someone can lead a most fascinating life， which he did， but that doesn't mean he can write a book as compelling。 There were times that this book seemed a lot longer than just under 300 pages。 All i Kyle Petty was the third generation racer in the Petty dynasty。 In a family where weekends are for watching races and a son who is a walking encyclopedia for anything racing from F1 on down the line I don't feel that after reading this I know anymore about Kyle than I did before。 I always thought that someone can lead a most fascinating life， which he did， but that doesn't mean he can write a book as compelling。 There were times that this book seemed a lot longer than just under 300 pages。 All in all though he was very readable and would be a good addition to the library of any race fan。Thank you to Netgalley and St。 Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy。 。。。more

Barb ，

3。5 stars， rounded up** review to come **

Kayo ，

Really interesting book。 I'm not sure how I missed it， but I didn't get that he divorced， so it was a shock when he was dating。 Overall great look at a big NASCAR family。 Thanks to author， publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book。 While I got the book for free， it had no bearing on the rating I gave it。 Really interesting book。 I'm not sure how I missed it， but I didn't get that he divorced， so it was a shock when he was dating。 Overall great look at a big NASCAR family。 Thanks to author， publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book。 While I got the book for free， it had no bearing on the rating I gave it。 。。。more

JACKIE ，

As a veteran NASCAR fan， I was thrilled to win an ARC of Kyle Petty’s new book。 Four generations of Petty men have played a huge role in the history of the sport and their stories are part of the mystique of this captivating and dangerous， truly American phenomenon。 Kyle has been involved in NASCAR from birth as a son， grandson， NASCAR top tier driver， father， CEO and television commentator and has a multifaceted perspective， which is both informative and entertaining。 There are anecdotes involv As a veteran NASCAR fan， I was thrilled to win an ARC of Kyle Petty’s new book。 Four generations of Petty men have played a huge role in the history of the sport and their stories are part of the mystique of this captivating and dangerous， truly American phenomenon。 Kyle has been involved in NASCAR from birth as a son， grandson， NASCAR top tier driver， father， CEO and television commentator and has a multifaceted perspective， which is both informative and entertaining。 There are anecdotes involving many of the sports personalities and an intimate look at the Petty family。 With the tragic loss of Adam， he honestly presents his feelings as he navigates his way through the shock and pain。 Kyle’s love of music gives him an outlet for his emotions and several passages are included in the book。 Ultimately， he finds a way to move forward， discovering a life after driving， commentating for NBC Sports and having several interview series as well as continuing his music and finding love again。 This story could only be told by a true insider and as the son of the “King，” Kyle Petty takes us on his unique personal NASCAR journey。 I laughed and I cried， and I wouldn’t have missed it。 。。。more

Patrick ，

Thanks to MacMillan publishing for allowing to get a head start on reading this fun and informative memoir。

Amy ，

Excellent look into the first family of NASCAR。 Kyle Petty doesn't hold anything back。 Engaging and well written that even makes a not a huge racing fan wanting to keep turning the pages。 Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC。 Excellent look into the first family of NASCAR。 Kyle Petty doesn't hold anything back。 Engaging and well written that even makes a not a huge racing fan wanting to keep turning the pages。 Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC。 。。。more

Andrew Langert ，

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley。Kyle Petty， now 62 years old， is best known for being a member of one of NASCAR's most prominent families。 He is the son of Richard Petty， "The King"， who won 200 NASCAR races， the winningest driver of all-time。 Kyle had nowhere near that level of success， but is/was kind of a Renaissance Man， a versatile guy who is also a singer/songwriter， a TV commentator and the creator of a very successful charity which was inspired by Adam， his son， who was I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley。Kyle Petty， now 62 years old， is best known for being a member of one of NASCAR's most prominent families。 He is the son of Richard Petty， "The King"， who won 200 NASCAR races， the winningest driver of all-time。 Kyle had nowhere near that level of success， but is/was kind of a Renaissance Man， a versatile guy who is also a singer/songwriter， a TV commentator and the creator of a very successful charity which was inspired by Adam， his son， who was killed tragically before he was 20 years old。This book covers a lot of ground。 A lot of NASCAR history。 A lot about the family and Petty Enterprises， which actually got its start with Lee Petty， Kyle's grandfather。 Tragedies impacted Kyle's life and those are covered。 This is not a NASCAR expose at all， so don't expect criticism of NASCAR or gossip about drivers， past or present。 Kyle praises NASCAR for adapting to a constantly changing business environment。This is a smooth， easy-to-follow read， even for someone who is not a racing fan。 The Petty family is a truly class act。 Their story is both interesting and inspiring。 。。。more

Cindy ，

I’ve never watched a stock car race or any other car race and yet I still enjoyed this book。 The writing is just ok but the story telling is fun and I liked learning a bit about a sport （and truly a culture） that I knew next to nothing about。 Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for an honest and fair review。

This Feral Housewife ，

Great book with a unique perspective on life。 I liked getting to know the person behind the name。 Well written and interesting。

Peggy ，

I received a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway。 Kyle gives his account of the joy， pain， heartache & loss NASCAR brought to his life。 It was interesting to read how the NASCAR family pulls together to support the cross country charity rides he puts together & the Victory Junction camp established in honor of his oldest son。 It was a light， quick read with enough personal stories to keep my attention。

Kathy ，

Bio of Kyle and a history of NASCAR， nice combination and well done。

Randal White ，

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 hi 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。 。。。more

Ryo ，

I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I randomly entered this giveaway， without being a NASCAR fan or a racing fan in general。 So I didn't even know who Kyle Petty was， though his father， Richard Petty， sounded vaguely familiar。 Generally， I found the book interesting， despite not really knowing anything about car racing。 It's an effective autobiography of a man who's a third-generation racer， with some history of NASCAR and his grandfather's and father's involvement in I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I randomly entered this giveaway， without being a NASCAR fan or a racing fan in general。 So I didn't even know who Kyle Petty was， though his father， Richard Petty， sounded vaguely familiar。 Generally， I found the book interesting， despite not really knowing anything about car racing。 It's an effective autobiography of a man who's a third-generation racer， with some history of NASCAR and his grandfather's and father's involvement in it that felt necessary without feeling overly long。 I appreciated the lack of jargon and that the book seems to have been written without an assumption of any prior knowledge of racing。 It also goes into some personal stories， as autobiographies should， especially of the heartbreaking loss of his first son （this is in the introduction， so not really a spoiler）。 It did feel a bit light on the details about his other children and his courtship of his first wife， though; it seemed like he and his wife were married not long after her introduction in the text， without really mentioning all the ups and downs in their courtship， with only a brief mention of the wedding and the race that was part of their honeymoon。 I expected more presence of a woman who the author was married to for over three decades and bore three of his children。 There's also some really heartwarming stories about the charity ride across the country that Kyle set up and the camp he established in honor of his deceased son， and I could not help but feel warm and fuzzy after reading these parts。 The last chapter， though， felt shoehorned in， with some musings about the future of racing crammed into the final pages。 It mentions changes in money and sponsorships， as well as questions about diversity and adverse effects on the environment， but it felt like these deserved a lot more space。 The money and sponsorship issues are touched on throughout the book naturally by way of describing what went on behind the scenes on his racing team， but the diversity issues are barely mentioned until the end， and the environmental issues aren't even brought up until the very end。 In a book that spans multiple decades of a sport， it seemed like there was a missed opportunity to discuss the issues of diversity and environment throughout the book， showing changes and evolution， or lack thereof， as the sport grew up。 But the book was more entertaining than I expected， for a sport I barely know anything about。 。。。more