Darrell Waltrip Says 'Boogity, Boogity, Boogity' to Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR

COS COB, Conn., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, puts three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip in the driver's seat for the next NASCAR book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR, 101 stories of Family, Fortitude and Fast Cars (Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC., February 2010, 978-1-935096-44-3, $14.95, in bookstores now). Waltrip, who wrote the foreword, is joining Chicken Soup for the Soul in celebrating the most dedicated fans in sports.

A NASCAR legend, and older brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and team owner Michael Waltrip, Darrell raced professionally from 1972 until 2000. Upon his retirement in 2000, his 809 career starts and 84 victories ranked him third-best at the time. Now a lead analyst for NASCAR on FOX broadcasts and columnist for FOX Sports and FoxSports.com, Waltrip spends his time highlighting the best stories of NASCAR for a national audience—something he's carrying over to this book with Chicken Soup for the Soul.

"One thing pops out at me all the way through these stories," Waltrip says about Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR, "someone, somehow, somewhere, had an impact on all these people's lives. And I believe the people who read the stories shared in this book will be impacted in some way, too."

Among his many accomplishments, Waltrip is the 1989 Daytona 500 winner, the 1980s NASCAR Driver of the Decade, a three-time American Driver of the Year winner, the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated Person of the Year, a two-time winner of the Most Popular Driver Award and winner of the Bill France Award of Excellence in 2000. His autobiography DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles (Signet, February 2005) was a New York Times bestseller and he was nominated for an "Outstanding Event Analyst" Sports Emmy in 2007.

Cathy Elliott, a seasoned NASCAR journalist, co-authored Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR. She is a writer for NASCAR Media and brings her extensive experience to the project, providing an in-depth look into the world of NASCAR that few people see. Elliott interviewed dozens of NASCAR drivers, families and associates in order to put together this gripping Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR (Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Cathy Elliott) releases February 16, 2010.  Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, publishes all the latest titles in the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series which are distributed through Simon and Schuster, Inc. Since 1993, books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series have sold more than 112 million copies, with titles translated into more than 40 languages. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing also licenses the right to use its famous trademark to high quality licensees through IMG, the world's premier licensing agent. The company is currently implementing a plan to expand into all media, is working with TV networks on several TV shows and is developing a major Internet presence dedicated to life improvement, emotional support and inspiration. In 2007, USA Today named Chicken Soup for the Soul one of the five most memorable and impactful books in the last quarter century. For more information visit: www.chickensoup.com.

About NASCAR: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – with more of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S. than any other sport, and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. Also part of NASCAR is Grand-Am Road Racing, known for its competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.

About NASCAR Library Collection: A division of NASCAR's overall licensing operation in its Charlotte office, NASCAR Publishing oversees more than 22 licensed publishing partners. Since 2004 more than 200 titles have been published under the NASCAR Library Collection, which provides a level of authentication and quality to NASCAR-licensed books. Representing a range of books as diverse and varied as the NASCAR fan base, the NASCAR Library Collection captures the NASCAR lifestyle from all angles. The NASCAR Library Collection includes books in a number of categories, including drivers and personalities, cookbooks, history, children, fiction and romance, and statistics, facts and reference. NASCAR Library Collection titles can be found in an array of retail outlets, including mass market, bookstores, NASCAR.com Superstore, specialty and more.

To receive a review copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR, or to schedule an interview with Darrell Waltrip or Cathy Elliott, please contact James Gubera at (512) 478-2028 ext. 203 or [email protected].

SOURCE Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC