The People's Champ-A Racing Life

The autobiography of one of Sprint Car racing s most popular and talented racers. Written with award-winning motorsports journalist Bones Bourcier, The People's Champ charts the course of Darland's racing life, from Quarter-Midgets and local Sprint Cars through his remarkable professional career, including championships in all three of USAC's national divisions Silver Crown, Sprint Cars, and Midgets. No mere chronological rehashing of a great driver's climb, Darland discusses the rivalries that helped shape his career, the code of conduct he races by, the magic of his sport s biggest events, and the joys and stresses of being a husband and father in a sport that requires frequent travel and intense focus. The book is illuminated with reflections from eyewitnesses who have seen Darland through the prisms of their own personal and professional relationships, whether as car owner, mechanic, rival driver, or family member. Darland's story is illustrated by dozens of photographs, many previously unpublished.

Bones Bourcier has covered American automobile racing since 1976, contributing columns and feature stories to a number of magazines and newspapers. Bourcier is a two-time winner of the Miller Racing Award of Excellence, one of motorsports journalism's most coveted annual prizes, and a past recipient of the Eastern Motorsports Press Association's Frank Blunk Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to motorsports journalism. He has co-written acclaimed motorsports autobiographies, including Racing Safely, Living Dangerously with safety innovator Bill Simpson and True Speed: My Racing Life with NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart. Coastal 181 publications include Richie!, a biography of the late Richie Evans, nine-time NASCAR Modified Series champion; and As a Matter of Fact I AM Parnelli Jones, among numerous other titles.