Taking Flak: My Life in the Fast Lane

He was an NFL superstar and Drag Racing icon. He had Hollywood starlets on his arm and a legion of fans in the palms of his hands. Dan Pastorini lived on the edge and palye don the brink. No one-least of all Pastorini-knew what the next turn would bring. His life was indulgent, brilliant, cursed and humbling. He was known a s the toughest man in football, a cover-boy heart-throb and a soft-hearted friend. He changed the way NFL quarterbacks played the game, donning the first Flak Jacket to protect three shattered ribs. He threw perhaps the most fateful pass in playoff history, a controversial championship moment that led to use of NFL replay. He was involved in a tragic speed boating accident. He beat "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and all of drag racing's best. He was the hero in the most triumphant return an NFL team ever received. He never backed down from anything or anyone, falling into notorious scraped and life-altering lows. He married a Playboy model and posed for Playgirl. He dated Farrah Fawcett and was the most iconic figure in a Wild West era when Texas oil boomed and gluttony prevailed. Dan Pastorini never has told the whole story. Until now. This is the story of a gifted, hard-driving kid from California who never stopped going fast or chasing dreams. No matter how much flak he took.

John is a regular contributor for SportsIllustrated.com and TexAgs.com, as well as co-host of CBS Houston's morning sports talk show, Vandermeer & Lopez. John also has written for the Bryan Eagle, San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle. He has been named Texas' best sports columnist and earned national recognition from the Associated Press Managing Editors and Associated Press Sports Editors. He has appeared on The Today Show, ESPN Sports Center, Dateline NBC, CNN Sports at Night, CBS This Morning and ESPN's Outside The Lines. He has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1999 and a Heisman Trophy voter since 1985. In 1997, John co-authored Landing On My Feet - A Diary Of Dreams, with 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug. He has three children - Jacob, BG and Leah - and lives in Humble, Tx, with his wife, Jan, and loyal dog, Gibson.