Speedy Bill Smith and I recently collaborated on his autobiography, "Fast Company." The book is slated to be released on Dec. 3, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Speedy Bill is quite a character with some great stories about his career in racing and hot rodding. (Sometimes things weren't so great, as this was a terribly dangerous era in our sport.)

If you aren't familiar with Speedy, he owned race cars from the late 1940s to the early '80s and had some of the best in the business in his cars at one time or another. Lloyd Beckman, Ray Lee Goodwin, Jan Opperman, Doug Wolfgang, Ron Shuman, Bubby Jones, and many more. He also founded Speedway Motors in 1952, and today the company is one of the largest distributors of performance and racing parts and supplies in the world. Bill is 80 years young and still going strong.

If you have enjoyed any of my other books, I think you'll enjoy this one. Bill is a hardcore racer and he tells it like he sees it without any sugarcoating. He speaks in a way we open wheel people can relate to, I think.

Orders placed before Dec. 1 will be signed by both Bill and I.

For more info, you can click on the ad at the top of this page (blinking purple ad...thanks to Bill Gardner's creative touch!) or visit www.americanscenepress.com.

And now, I need a vacation...

Just dropped a not so suble hint on my spouse for the holidays. Keep em coming, DA.

I would drop anything I'm doing to read anything by Dave Argabright...Always good stuff...

Btw...when are we going to see a "Best of Times" novel????

Paging Santa Claus, a/k/a Anita Burton.:2:

Will you have books available at either the IMIS or the Indy Circle Track Expo?

We hope to have some books at the Speedway Motors booth at the IMIS show, still working out the logistics on that.

I'm sure we'll have books at the Indy Circle Track Expo as well.

As for a Best of Times book(s)...I'd love to do this, I'm still trying to determine the best way to go about it. Reprinting the existing story? All new stories? I'd like to do some market research on my website to figure out what people might want.

Thanks for the great feedback!

You write it and we will read it.

Jerry #66

I thought that was Jim Morrison...

Make the book about the entire months of April and May when he makes his third visit to the Brickyard. Make sure he runs every sprint, midget, and Champ car race on the schedule that season so there is plenty to write about. Then in Sprint Car and Midget mag just do a "Cliff Notes" version of the book for that one month so we don't miss the flow of the monthly feature.

BTW...as many people have commented over the last 3 years.... "THE BEST OF TIMES IS THE FIRST THING I READ WHEN I GET THE NEW ISSUE"...and I read it IMMEDIATELY when the mag gets in my hands, no matter what i should be doing at that time...Just got the new one today and ignored 2 customers while reading it at my desk!!!!

Kevin Olson's column comes next...for the humor and to see if he mentions my buddies Jason Dull or Johnny Murdock..

And like Jerry Spencer mentioned above...You write it, we WILL read it!!!!