Racing to the Finish by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Quick Synopsis: With Ryan McGee, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells the story of his decision to end his racing career. This is not the story of his childhood and long explanations of time with his dad, it’s more about him and the impact of his last years behind the wheel of a race car. He talks about the physical turmoil he endured that led him to the decision, but more importantly, he also lays bare the emotional roller-coaster that he faced during these years.
Why Students Like it: I took this book into my classroom on a whim. I had originally bought it for my mom, a Nascar and Dale Jr. fan, and she enjoyed it. She said it was an interesting read and opened her eyes to some of the more physical impacts of racing. She said, “your kids might like this,” so I took it in. Sure enough, she was right. At one point it had at least six different book marks in it, all from different boys who were taking turns reading it. The conversational tone makes it an engaging read, and the infusion of notes that he begins keeping in 2014. These notes focus a lot on his physical conditions—fogginess, headaches, trouble sleeping, dizziness—but also on his mental conditions which left him feeling anxious, nervous, and forgetful. This peer into Earnhardt’s mind helps students stay more engaged because it breaks up the monotony of text on the page and allows them to peer a little more into Earnhardt’s state of mind.
Why You Might Like It: If you are a Nascar fan, I highly suggest checking this out. It’s different in that it isn’t about a professional athlete becoming successful, but rather deciding that success and fame weren’t enough to keep him in the sport. It’s about an athlete choosing his health over his career, and deciding that his life can be just as purposeful off the track as it was on it. With no fancy language or lingo, any reader can pick up Racing to the Finish and find themselves quickly engaged in the story of a man navigating a massive change in his life, and perhaps, in their reading, they will gain the courage to do something similar on their own.
