Funny Dan the Race Car Man

Funny Dan the Race Car Man

by Tim Packman illustrated by Brendan Sellaro copyright ©2011 Tim Packman copyright ©2017 Tim Packman All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books.

The Headline Kids Educational Series is a continuing series of 6 x 9 paperback books for the classroom, home school environment, parents and caregivers. The authors of these books are teachers, parents, and exceptional individuals who love children. The subject matter will be different in every book but all give inspiration to imagination and creativity. There is a learning element in every book and/or easy activity to do at home. Headline Kids celebrates children and these books will increase early learning and reading skills.

To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 Tel: 304-789-3001 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 978-0-938467-12-0 (hardcover) ISBN-13: 978-1-882658-91-6 (paperback) Packman, Tim. Funny Dan the race car man / by Tim Packman ; Illustrations by Brendan Sellaro. p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-938467-12-0 I. Sellaro, Brendan, ill. II. Title.

PZ7.P12582Fu 2011 [Fic]--dc22 2011008992

PR I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D STAT E S OF A M E R IC A

DEDICATION I sincerely thank the people who have inspired me to bring these characters to life and for the impact you’ve all made on mine. Because of that, you’ve become part of Funny Dan’s world and made a dream come true.

To my family and friends for your support in good times and bad—thank you.

This is for the child in all of us who loves to play with race cars—especially you, Funny Dan.

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INTRODUCTION What you are about to read is the story of a race car driver. This driver isn’t the best one on the track and doesn’t win a lot of races— he’s just happy being part of the sport. He’s a fan favorite who enjoys what he does for the fun of it, and not for the trophies and fame. Oh, he wants to go to Victory Lane. But, he’s a winner just because he’s out there doing what he loves most—racing.

Meet your new friend—Funny Dan the Race Car Man. Funny Dan doesn’t have a big sponsor or a lot of money to compete in NASCAR. He doesn’t have a big race shop with tons of expensive equipment.

The owner of the team is Cheap Pete, a nice guy, but he just doesn’t like to spend a whole bunch of money on his race team or anything for that matter. That’s why he’s Cheap Pete.

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Funny Dan’s crew chief is Gentle Jim, one of the most helpful and kind crew chiefs in all of racing.

Dan and Jim get along so well they’ve never, ever argued. Funny Dan’s crew members are Daring Doug, Wacky Warren, Good Guy Gary, Devious Dave, Jabberjaw Jimmy, and Happy Howie.

They work very, very hard on the car and Funny Dan tries to drive as fast as he can in every race. They haven’t won a race—yet—but they try hard and have fun.

On the track, Funny Dan races against proven winners like Bobby Champ, the winningest driver in NASCAR, Rusty Racer, Rubbin Robby, Daredevil Dave and his son Daredevil, Jr., Mediocre Mike, Bouncing Bo, Quick Bick, Evil Eddie, Super Speedy Scott and Racer Ron.

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Dan is married to a very beautiful girl named Darling Dawn. They met at a racetrack when she was a trophy queen working as Miss NASCAR. They didn’t talk much at first, but when they did—Funny Dan didn’t stop.

And, he hasn’t stopped or even slowed down since then making Darling Dawn laugh for years.

So, get ready to laugh and enjoy some fun times on the racetrack as Funny Dan and his team go for victory. They might not win, but they are champions just for being there each week.

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01 CHECK IT OUT It was the beginning of another NASCAR season and all the race teams were gathered at Akron Superspeedway just outside of Buffalo, N.Y. They were ready for practice and qualifying at the coolest track on the circuit for the biggest race of the year—the Super Fast 500.

Funny Dan and his crew had been working on the car all winter getting the No. 21 Cheap Pete’s Appliances race car ready for this race. If there was one thing Funny Dan and the team ever wanted to do, it was win this special race.

Wacky Warren, Daring Doug, Good Guy Gary, Devious Dave, Happy Howie and Jabberjaw Jimmy had already unloaded the car and were getting it ready for practice.

Funny Dan and his crew chief, Gentle Jim, were up in the car hauler talking about what they needed to do before practice.

Gentle Jim turned to Funny Dan and said, “Dan, we’ve been coming here for years and have never qualified better than 10th. This year, let’s try and qualify really well so we can make our owner, Cheap Pete, really happy. Then, maybe he’ll give us money to buy everyone on the team something really nice.”

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Funny Dan turned to Gentle Jim and said, “Yeah, instead of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, maybe he’ll get us something cool like real hamburgers for once! Maybe we can even get cheese on them, too!”

Funny Dan and Gentle Jim laughed out loud before they went outside to check on their race car. The red, white and blue No. 21 Cheap Pete’s Appliances race car was sitting there all shiny in the sun.

The crew stopped working and gathered around their race car so Gentle Jim could talk to them before practice. He said, “Okay guys; let’s make sure everything is ready on this list before Funny Dan goes out on the track. I’ll call it out and you tell me if it’s on the car.”

“Engine in the car?”—Check!

“Oil in the engine?”—Check!

“Steering wheel attached?”—Check!

“Windshield clean?”—Check!

After he got done going through the whole list, Gentle Jim asked if anyone had any questions.

“Yeah, I do,” Funny Dan blurted out. “Are all four tires on the car?” Nobody said a word. They all just put their heads down and slowly turned toward the car. There sat the car, with all four tires on it ready to go.

All at once they all yelled, “Check” and began laughing.

Between laughs Funny Dan said, “You guys are so easy to trick. Let’s get ready to practice for the big race.”

While they were rolling the car out of the garage, Gentle Jim looked over and saw a pair of feet sticking up in the air moving along with the car. He quickly did a double take and counted off to make sure the whole crew was there. He saw Daring Doug, Happy Howie, Good Guy Gary, Devious Dave and Jabberjaw Jimmy. The only one missing was Wacky Warren.

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Gentle Jim quickly ran around the car and there was Wacky Warren. He was upside-down walking on his hands right along with the car as it rolled along through the garage.

Everyone tried not to laugh, but their faces were all red because they were about to burst from holding their laughter inside.

Gentle Jim’s face was red too, but not because he was holding in his laughter—he was mad. “Wacky Warren, I want to know what in the heck are you doing walking on your hands!?”

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Without missing a beat, Wacky Warren calmly said, “My shoelace was untied and I didn’t want to make everyone stop so I could re-tie it.” Funny Dan was the first to laugh, and then everyone else exploded in laughter along with him.

Even Gentle Jim just smirked, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well…okay.”

Just then they rolled by Ruling Richard, the head honcho for NASCAR. This tall man seemed to know everything that every driver did on and off the track. He slowly turned to the No. 21 team and said, “Well, I see nothing has changed since last season,” shaking his head and smirking.

With that, the whole crew started to laugh out loud.

Ruling Richard was happy to see Funny Dan and his crew after such a long off-season because they always made him smile.

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02 WHAT’S THAT NOISE?!

Once they got the car rolled into position for practice, Funny Dan climbed in the car and put on his helmet, gloves and special safety belts. He flipped some switches and started the engine. VrrooOOO VROOOOOOOmMMMmmm Vroom vroom vroom—the engine sounded great.

Funny Dan headed out on the black asphalt of Akron Superspeedway for his first laps of the season. He burned off pit road smoking the tires, shifting gears as he headed out on to the track. With the engine coming to full power, Funny Dan took off down the backstretch toward Turns 3 and 4.

Just as he entered Turn 3, Funny Dan heard a rumbling noise in the car. He slowed down thinking something was wrong. He keyed his radio and said to Gentle Jim, “Hey, there’s something wrong with the car. It’s making a bunch of noise in the turns! I’m not sure what it is, do you guys see any smoke?”

After watching Funny Dan go down the frontstretch, Gentle Jim got on the radio, “Gee, no, we don’t Dan. Take another lap and see what happens.”

“Okay, I’ll try once more. But, I’m telling you, I’m hearing some funny noises in here, and not the kind that make you laugh,” Funny Dan said.

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As he zoomed into Turn 1, the same sound started again and it didn’t end until he exited Turn 2 for the backstretch.

Funny Dan got back on the radio, “It’s happening again. The engine sounds fine and so does the transmission.”

Just as he went down the backstretch, the funny sound stopped. He slowed to go into Turn 3 and just as he turned, the noise started again. Just as he exited Turn 4, Funny Dan looked down and saw what was making the noise.

He was on the verge of being very angry when he realized where the noise was coming from in the cockpit. He got on the radio and said, “I figured out what was making the noise.”

Gentle Jim came right back and said, “What? What was the problem out there, Funny Dan?! Tell us so we can fix it!”

“Soda cans,” is all Funny Dan said.

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All of a sudden, it got very quiet in the No. 21 garage as the pit crew pulled their hats down real low over their eyes and hung their heads looking down at the cement floor. You see, they had been working on the car day and night to get ready for this race. In their rush, they left their empty soda cans in the car and they ended up behind Funny Dan’s seat.

When he went through the turns with his race car, the cans rolled out from behind the seat and started to rattle around inside the cockpit.

Gentle Jim didn’t say a word to the crew. He could see they felt real bad about leaving their soda cans in the race car. He just got on the radio and said, “Okay, bring it in so we can fix the problem.”

The crew jumped on the car like bees on honey because they felt so bad about the soda cans scaring their driver.

Funny Dan went back out until practice ended with no more problems. They were 18th fastest on the speed chart and knew they had some work to do if they wanted to qualify better than 10th for the race. That, and the crew wanted to make it up to both Funny Dan and Gentle Jim for the soda cans.

And did they ever.

Funny Dan and the No. 21 Cheap Pete’s Appliances race car qualified eighth for the race. They were all so happy that Gentle Jim thought this might be the beginning of a great year. Cheap Pete was so happy he actually reached into his pocket and bought everyone a real treat for dinner—99¢ big burgers from the drive-thru, but no cheese. After all, he’s Cheap Pete.

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03 MORNING OF THE SUPER FAST 500 The sun started to rise over Akron Superspeedway on Sunday morning with that special feeling still with Funny Dan, Gentle Jim and the team as the garage opened. Wearing their colorful uniforms, they uncovered the car and began to work.

After the drivers’ meeting, introductions and the parade lap, the race was ready to begin. Only one of 43 drivers can win this special race, and Funny Dan hoped it was going to be his team.

Would it be Funny Dan, Evil Ed, Daredevil Dave, Bouncing Bo, Bobby Champ, Mediocre Mike, Rubbin Robby, Super Speedy Scott, Daredevil Jr. or Racer Ron? They had 200 laps of action-packed racing to find out, and the green flag was about to drop.

Before the race, Cheap Pete gathered Funny Dan, Gentle Jim and the entire team together for a pep talk outside their race car hauler. “I’m proud of you guys and what you’ve done this week. And, so is our sponsor—me. We have a pretty good car today and I’ve never had more confidence in all of you than I have today. Matter of fact, if we have a great race today, I’ll buy everyone a real nice dinner. No 14

hamburgers, I promise.”

The crew chuckled until Funny Dan yelled. “Burgers?

We don’t need no stinkin’ burgers! We just want sewer covers!” Everyone just stood there looking at Funny Dan real…well, funny.

Realizing he might have said something wrong, Funny Dan explained by saying, “You know, a sewer cover—a frozen pizza with lots of cheese and pepperoni!” They were still looking at him funny. Wacky Warren figured out real quick what Funny Dan meant and ran to the race car trailer, opened the freezer door on the refrigerator and pulled out a frozen pizza.

“See, with the way the pepperoni is placed all over it, it looks like a sewer cover!” The crew wanted to laugh so hard that Happy Howie had tears in his eyes as he bit his lip.

Good Guy Gary and Devious Dave had to turn away before they laughed, too.

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Funny Dan had his head down because he knew Wacky Warren would be the first to figure out what he meant all along. He was just wondering what Cheap Pete was going to say.

Just then, Cheap Pete let out a loud laugh as the rest of the crew joined in slapping their knees as their faces turned red. And, just then, Ruling Richard once again walked by the team while they were all laughing. He stopped, just stood there and shook his head with a very, very serious look on his face.

He said to them all very sternly, “Every time I come by this team, you guys are laughing or acting silly. Today is the biggest race of the year, aren’t you ever going to take anything seriously?”

After glaring at them a few more seconds, his eyes twinkled and a smirk formed on his face that turned into a big smile before he said, “Good luck to you, Funny Dan. I hope this is your day.”

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With that, the crew started to laugh and gave each other high-fives and fist bumps as Ruling Richard walked away.

Just then, Bobby Champ came up and saw how the team was acting. Bobby Champ had won nine NASCAR titles and three Super Fast 500 races during his career.

He smiled and said, “You know, you and your team always seem so relaxed and it looks like you’re having fun.

That’s the perfect way to get ready for a race like this one.

Funny Dan, good luck to you today. I just hope you don’t finish too far behind me so you can see me take the checkered flag,” he said with a laugh.

With that, he shook Funny Dan’s hand and walked off to his maroon and gold car. Funny Dan was very touched that someone like Bobby Champ stopped to wish him luck.

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04 GETTING READY TO RACE Right after the National Anthem, Funny Dan got in the No. 21 car and put on his special safety belts. Before he put on his helmet and racing gloves, Darling Dawn came up to the window, shared a quick prayer with him and gave him a good luck kiss.

As she started to walk away, Funny Dan yelled to her, “Hey, what’s for dinner tonight?” Darling Dawn smiled and said, “Whatever you want—if you win.”

“Sounds good to me, as long it’s not sewer covers!” he said. Darling Dawn just laughed and walked away.

The crowd stood and cheered as the field made its way out of Turn 4 toward Dancing Don, the flagman at the start/finish line. Pit crews were on the wall and drivers had butterflies in their stomachs as the track announcer, Talking Tim, gave the call.

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“Here they come, out of the turn toward the frontstretch in all their shining glory. Forty-three cars, 43 drivers and 43 pit crews all racing for the same place—Victory Lane.

Only one of them can do it, who’s it going to be? We’ll find out in 200 laps. Are you ready for some racing? Let’s start the Super Fast FiiiiiiveHuuuundred.” The crowd roared their answer all at once as Dancing Don waved the green flag.

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05 GREEN! GREEN! GREEN! For the first few laps, Funny Dan and the rest of the drivers held their starting position and didn’t pass each other.

Then, they all got real comfortable and started to make their moves.

Quick Bick and Bouncing Bo were the first to start passing other cars. They made zigzag patterns on the backstretch passing 10 cars in one lap! Daredevil Dave was up to his old tricks making some moves on the backstretch leaving fans, and some of the other drivers, speechless. These were moves that would live on in their memories forever.

When the race reached lap 125, Funny Dan was running in 12th place. Racer Ron was leading with Bobby Champ in second, Rubbing Robby in third, Bouncing Bo in fourth and Quick Bick in fifth. Mediocre Mike was running 10th, with Daredevil Jr. in 11th and Evil Eddie right behind Funny Dan in 13th place.

Looking into his rearview mirror, Funny Dan didn’t think Evil Eddie looked so evil right about now because he was ahead of him. Matter of fact, Funny Dan was looking out his windshield to pass Mediocre Mike and Daredevil Jr.

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Gentle Jim got on the radio and told Funny Dan, “You’re doing fine out there, Funny Dan. How do you like the car?

Everything okay?”

Funny Dan called back to him with a slight laugh, “Well, the car is running great and the motor is really powerful. But, you know what I could use?”

Gentle Jim answered quickly, “What? Tell us! What do you need?!”

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After a slight pause, Funny Dan said, “Ice cream” before laughing.

Funny Dan was having fun and ready to make a move— toward the front.

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06 TROUBLE! When the race reached lap 165, Funny Dan was now up to eighth place and feeling good. Then, just as everyone was coming off of Turn 4, a big puff of smoke appeared in the rearview mirror and Funny Dan saw cars spinning all over the place.

The fans in the stands were going crazy as cars were spinning into the grass, some were brushing the walls and others were crunching their fenders. All Funny Dan could think about was not getting caught up in the wreck. Dancing Don waved the yellow flag to slow the race. Once the smoke settled and cars stopped spinning, emergency crews rushed to the stopped cars.

Thankfully, everyone was okay and the crowd cheered again. As the drivers who weren’t involved drove by the accident area, they gave thumbs-up to their fellow drivers.

They like to race and bang fenders with each other, but they never want to see any of them get hurt.

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The remaining cars in the race came down pit road for their last pit stop. Funny Dan’s crew leapt into action changing four tires, cleaning dirt off the windshield and filling the car with fuel. Once they finished, they gave their car a big push and sent the No. 21 back on the track for the final restart. Would this be the day Funny Dan finally won?

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07 THE CHARGE TO THE CHECKERED FLAG After the caution to clean up the track, there were now 32 cars left with no more pit stops needed to finish the race.

There were only 30 laps to the checkered flag and victory for one of those 32 drivers.

Funny Dan was 10th behind Bouncing Bo in first place, who was followed by Racer Ron, Quick Bick, Mediocre Mike, Daredevil Jr., Rubbin’ Robby, Bobby Champ, Super Speedy Scott and Evil Eddie.

Once the race restarted, all the drivers took off going as fast as rockets. With 10 laps left in the race, the tension and excitement for the fans and drivers continued to grow.

This was the Super Fast 500—and everyone wanted to win.

They roared through the big-time turns, screamed down the straightaway sounding like a pack of jet fighters as they roared by the grandstands. Bouncing Bo still had the lead and was being followed by Quick Bick in second and Racer Ron in third.

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Funny Dan was up to sixth.

With five laps left, everyone was plotting their next move. Bouncing Bo was trying to hold off Quick Bick and Racer Ron by ducking down low, just as Mediocre Mike tried to pass Quick Bick and Racer Ron on the high side to make it three wide.

Funny Dan was now running fifth, hanging on for dear life to have a great finish as Evil Eddie, who had been ninth, was making a huge run to get by everyone.

With two laps left, Bouncing Bo lost the lead to Racer Ron, who was then passed by Evil Eddie for the lead with Quick Bick and Bouncing Bo now battling it out for third.

As they raced side-by-side down the frontstretch, their cars made contact with each other.

Wham! Bam! Slam! Quick Bick and Bouncing Bo kept banging into each other at 180-mph racing door-to-door.

Racer Ron was smart enough to stay far enough ahead of those two while they were doing the sheet metal shimmy crunching the sides of their cars. Just then, Dancing Don waved the white flag signaling one more lap in the Super Fast 500.

Funny Dan looked in his rearview mirror and saw Daredevil Dave flying up through the field. He was passing to the right, to the left and going by like a rocket. Right behind Daredevil Dave was the crafty veteran himself— Bobby Champ. Funny Dan saw them coming through Turns 1 and 2 and decided he didn’t want to slow them down.

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As the field of cars headed down the backstretch, Bouncing Bo and Quick Bick were side-by-side again just beating and banging on each other with Racer Ron just ahead staying away from them. While Quick Bick and Bouncing Bo were crunching their cars to pieces, Daredevil Dave and Bobby Champ zoomed right by them like they were standing still.

Funny Dan was running seventh as they headed toward Turn 4 with Daredevil Jr. right behind him. Bouncing Bo and Quick Bick were still banging fenders as they spun off Turn 3 into the grass, right in front of Daredevil Jr. causing him to slow down.

Daredevil Dave and Bobby Champ passed Evil Eddie, dropping him to third. Funny Dan was now in fourth with Racer Ron right behind him. As they exited Turn 4, the charge to the checkered flag was on.

Funny Dan saw a car to his outside as they went down the frontstretch. It was Racer Ron trying to make a move.

Ahead of them, Bobby Champ was looking to the inside of Daredevil Dave, while Mediocre Mike and Super Speedy Scott battled it out for sixth and seventh with Rubbin’ Robby chasing them.

At the checkered flag, Bobby Champ edged Daredevil Dave for the win while Evil Eddie hung on for third. Just as they crossed the finish line, Racer Ron was two inches ahead of Funny Dan to take fourth leaving Funny Dan with a fifthplace finish.

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Funny Dan did it! He had a top-five finish in the Super Fast 500!! The crew jumped up and down like they had won.

This was their best finish ever! Even Cheap Pete was smiling at how well his team raced.

While Bobby Champ circled the track with his checkered flag, Funny Dan was on pit road getting high-fives from the crew and a big hug from Darling Dawn. She was beaming with pride because her man had done so well in this special race.

Dan was interviewed by Talking Tim, who congratulated him on the great finish and asked him about his great race.

Funny Dan cracked a big smile and said, “Aww heck, I didn’t want to win this race. If you win, you have to do all those interviews and go on all those TV shows. I got plans to go fishing this week.”

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Still smiling, Funny Dan looked over at Cheap Pete, Gentle Jim and the rest of the crew—Wacky Warren, Daring Doug, Good Guy Gary, Devious Dave, Jabberjaw Jimmy, and Happy Howie. They were all standing around the car just beaming at how well they did. Funny Dan just took in the moment and said, “Besides Tim, I have to take my wife and the whole crew out for pizza this week. Our owner Cheap Pete won’t pick up the tab, so I guess I have to.”

With that, Gentle Jim and the whole crew started to laugh. Funny Dan would have liked to win the Super Fast 500, but he was happy finishing fifth because nobody expected him to do that well in this race.

He might not have any racing trophies, make the most money, or live in the biggest house. But, to his crew, family, friends and fans that really know and care about him, Funny Dan is, and always will be… a winner.

THE END

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HOW TO GET INTO RACING

One of the biggest questions Funny Dan gets asked is, “How do I get into racing like you?”

The first thing you have to determine is what part of racing appeals to you most. If you want to be a driver, start racing go karts, micro midgets, BMX or something small on asphalt or dirt tracks to determine if you like driving. From there, if you’re good enough and get the proper backing, you can progress to full-sized race cars like a four-cylinder, and then to a Street Stock before getting in Late Models.

Make sure your parents are involved, you always have good equipment and, most of all, always have the proper safety gear in your car and on your body.

If you don’t want to drive and still want to be in racing, you can become a crew chief, car chief, crew member or engineer. Be sure to pay attention in your math and science classes because that’s what will help you be the best.

Some people want to become mechanics and work on the car. Figure out what area of the car is your specialty like engines, transmissions, fabrication or shocks and springs. Each job needs smart people to make sure the right parts on the car are used for the right track. Again, classes in auto shop, math and science are important.

If you want to be a reporter, public relations or marketing person, then be sure to take English, composition and writing classes. In high school and college, start taking journalism and broadcasting classes to help get you ready for your chosen career.

The best way to get started is to begin working at your local racetrack with a team or the track itself to see if you like it, and what you’re best at while you’re there. Find the one thing you like to do the best; and work hard to be the best in that area.

The one thing you have to do—to be the best at anything in life—is to read, read and read some more to learn all you can.

You will be well-educated on what you want to do and smarter when you start to work in racing.

And always, no matter where you go or what you do in life; always remember these three phrases that will always make you a better person: Please, Thank You, and I’m Sorry.

Most of all—have fun and love what you do in life.

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RACING TERMS

Loose: When a driver says the car is “loose” while racing, it means the back end of the car feels like it is going to whip around in the turns and go past the front of the car causing it to spin out.

Tight: When a driver says the car is “tight” while racing, it means the front end won’t turn properly in the turns causing the car to slide up the track instead of turning toward the straightaway.

Crew chief: This person is in charge of everyone on the race team, the car and all the equipment in the pit box and on the hauler.

He also makes the decisions on what to do during the race on pit stops. He works closely with the engineer.

Car chief: This person makes sure everything on the car is ready for inspection, practices, qualifying and the races. He works closely with the crew chief to make sure everything is done correctly on the car.

Engineer: This person uses all the information from the driver, crew chief, car chief, temperatures and air pressures, gas mileage, and other data, to let the crew chief know what the car is doing. They also make suggestions to make the car better.

Tire changer: Removes and replaces the tires using an air gun to loosen and tighten the five lug nuts on each wheel. There are two tire changers, one for the front tires and one for the rear ones.

Tire carrier: They bring the tires out and put them on the wheel during pit stops so the changer can tighten the lug nuts.

Jackman: They make sure the car gets jacked up off the ground on both the right and left side so the changers and carriers can switch out the tires.

Gas man: This crew member makes sure the proper amount of fuel gets in the race car on pit stops and helps the engineer figure out how far the car can go before the next pit stop.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to the family and friends who, for the last five years I have been bouncing ideas off of about this book, unbeknownst to them.

A special thanks to Cathy Teets and all the awesome folks at Headline Books. Thanks for your encouragement, sharing my vision and working with me to make this a reality.

A super huge thanks to Brendan Sellaro for his vision and artistry in giving a look to Funny Dan and his friends I never thought of, but I love what you did. You have a great future ahead of you, and I look forward to working with you more.

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