Author Description

A fascinating perspective on the sport of racing-a rare firsthand view from the pit, where races are won and lost, by the most successful crew chief in NASCAR® history. With an astonishing 43 checkered flags and three Winston Cup championships, Jeff Hammond is in the record books as one of NASCAR®'s all-time great crew chiefs. Today, with his expert race analysis for Fox and his weekly cable show, Totally NASCAR®, for the Speed Channel, he remains one of auto racing's most recognizable figures, mobbed by fans wherever he goes. In Real Men Work in the Pits, Hammond recalls the thrilling moments of his life in racing: starting out as a tire changer for Walter Ballard in 1974 and quickly becoming one of the best jackmen in the business, serving on all three of driver Cale Yarborough's championship seasons, and then taking over as crew chief during the glory days of legendary driver Darrell Waltrip. The stories Hammond tells about his life in NASCAR® and the greats he has known are funny and, sometimes, tragic. He has strong opinions about the current state of the sport and pulls no punches as he offers his insights about the past 30 years when the sport grew so phenomenally from a regional obsession to a national pastime.