“NASCAR fans often call their favorite drivers their ‘heroes.’ But as you’ll read in The Weekend Starts on Wednesday, through their devotion, generosity and community spirit, NASCAR fans are often the real heroes in our sport.”
Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports

“NASCAR fans travel the farthest and root the hardest for their favorite athletes. Andrew Giangola has collected an entertaining array of stories showing that incredible loyalty and passion, from an astronaut checking in on the race from outer space to Purple Heart soldiers feeling a special camaraderie at the track.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Brian Vickers

“NASCAR fans at the track are in a place they love, and no one has to tell them how to have a good time. Andrew Giangola really captures the fun fans are having, and the reasons they come out in such great numbers.”
Two-time Academy-award winner, Kevin Costner

“This book reads as if Erma Bombeck and Mark Twain had a kid and set him free in the infield to cover NASCAR fans. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to get in my car and drive really fast.”
Janet Evanovich, best-selling author

In The Weekend Starts on Wednesday, NASCAR insider Andrew Giangola scoured the circuit and slept in school buses to find remarkable fans and tell their hilarious, heart-warming stories. With a keen eye for detail and uncommon humor, Giangola probes the open hearts and colorful experiences of the sport’s most fervent fans. His collection of amazing stories opens a new chapter on the extraordinary appeal of NASCAR, and shows why so many are so crazy about this great American sport.

Buy From Amazon
UK : The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans
US : The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans

Just Customz Review

This is an unusual book about NASCAR as it isn’t about the drivers, the cars or the history of NASCAR it is all about the fans of NASCAR who support it with every waking moment of their lives. To write this book Giangola has slept in a converted school-bus and toured the make-shift camps that appear around the NASCAR circuits during races. He has talked to celebrities and the average Joe alike to tell their stories and what NASCAR means to them.

A typical heart wrenching story from the book is that of Wessa Miller who was born with Spina Bifida and her parents were told she wouldn’t live beyond 2 years old. Wessa attends church everytime the doors are open and in addition to her family her main passion is for NASCAR.

As part of the Make-A-Wish programme Wessa wanted to meet Dale Earnhardt who went by the name of ‘Ironhead’ or ‘the Intimidator’ on the track. Juanita, Wessa’s mother, was worried that he may leave her dissapointed because of his ‘bad-boy’ reputation. When she met Dale it couldn’t be further from the truth and he spent 15 minutes talking to her and she gave him a lucky penny that she had been keeping.

Up until that point dispite winning numerous races he could never win the Daytona 500. Unbeknown to Wessa Dale had glued the penny and many more to his dashboard and that day after 19 years of trying he finally won the race. To show his appreciation he bought Wessa a much needed Chevy campervan for the frequent trips to NASCAR in Wessa’s favourite colours.

For Wessa’s nineth birthday Juanita planned a trip to Dale’s Chevy dealership and when they arrived Dale immediately shouted ‘Wessa!’ and gave her a big hug.

Unfortunately that would be the last time that she would meet Dale as he was killed in a NASCAR accident whilst she was watching at home in 2001.

This is just one of the amazing and very touching stories in Giangola’s book and will no doubt leave you wnanting more!

Having only one airbrushing technique is like driving on only one road; it limits the places you can go. This book by famed custom painter JoAnn Bortles gives you the airbrushing tools to take your art just about anywhere. Taking up where she left off in her best-selling How to Master Airbrush Painting Techniques, Bortles outlines a full range of techniques and their applications. Her straightforward, clearly illustrated directions show you how to airbrush everything from backgrounds and murals to animal subjects and delicate human features on virtually any surface. Designing, drawing, painting from photographs; portraying natural and manmade landscapes; manipulating light and dark; painting airplanes, cars, and trucks; depicting birds and reptiles, animals and people in stylized and realistic ways: These are among the many techniques Bortles explains in direct, easy-to-follow terms. Her book is an ideal guide for airbrush painters seeking to expand their skills, and for readers of Bortles earlier book who are hungry for more.

Buy from Amazon
UK : Colorado Wild: Advanced Techniques (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : Airbrush Painting: Advanced Techniques (Motorbooks Workshop)

Just Customz Review

JoAnn Bortles is an award winning artist and this book will fit nicely on the bookshelf of both accomplished artists and novices alike. Each page in the 170 pages in this book has about 2/3 pictures detailing exactly how to create a particluar image.

The book has lots of simple techniques and informative comments to make the process of creating an airbrush masterpiece much easier.

The book can also act as a source of inspiration if you are looking to create a piece of artwork for your lowrider or custom car!

About the Author

Joann Bortles has contributed to Custom Painting: Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles as an author and is a nationally recognized and award winning custom painter. Her work has been featured in dozens of magazines and she has written four books on custom painting techniques for Motorbooks, including the bestselling “How to Master Airbrush Painting Techniques,” She lives and works in Waxhaw, North Carolina, running her own custom painting shop, Crazy Horse Painting.