Mark Bechtel's 'He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back' A Must-Read for NASCAR Fans

Over the years I have read many different nonfiction sports books from all sorts of sports: baseball, basketball, football, etc., but have always found that books about NASCAR and its highly entertaining and interesting history are the absolute most enjoyable. Mark Bechtel’s “He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back” about the 1979 Daytona 500 and NASCAR premier Winston Cup series season is right at the very top of that list, along with Ed Hinton’s “Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black” and Joe Menzer’s “The Wildest Ride.”

The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup season may be the greatest season in the 60-plus year history of the sport starting with the Daytona 500 race that helped to put the sport on the map as far as major sports go all the way to the very last race of the season which saw one of the sports closest all-time points finishes with a veteran and thought to be fading Richard Petty edging out the young, brash and universally disliked (at least at the time) Darrell Waltrip.

Bechtel’s book is incredibly well written with the author mixing in a great knowledge of not only the sport, but the country at the time in 1979 throwing in stuff about the struggles President Jimmy Carter faced at the time with the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran and how a young college basketball rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would soon help to grow the NBA in a similar way to NASCAR’s budding growth. With interesting story after interesting story Bechtel’s book is a brisk read, even though it approaches nearly 300 pages.

Bechtel’s book differs from the previously mentioned books by Hinton and Menzer in that it focuses solely on one NASCAR season instead of the sports beginnings and history. This allows for it to give even the most hardcore NASCAR fans new facts and stories about the sport, whereas many NASCAR books simply re-tell already known, but so fantastic you don’t really care stories. It also allows for the most extensive and thrilling coverage of the 1979 Daytona 500, which is almost certainly the most important race in the sport’s history. Not only was the Daytona 500 going to be the first full race broadcast live on a major television network, but it also occurred on a day when much of the country was snowed in with little more to do than watch television. The race started much like every other one before it had, but by the end the nation would see something that few could imagine: a duel at the finish resulting in the two leaders taking themselves out and an all out brawl post-race in the speedway’s infield.

“He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back” is truly a must-read for any NASCAR fan and will tell you everything you need to know about the 1979 season and the likes of Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and a young, determined rookie by the name of Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR’s past is the most interesting of any sport I’ve ever read about because it’s filled with realistic and utterly entertaining characters like those aforementioned above. This book will not only fill your head with all the facts of the 1979 season, but will leave you smiling with stories about some of the greatest auto racers to ever strap on a racing suit and helmet.