"Gotta Race!"
By Ken Schrader with Joyce Standridge

For those of you who have yearned to hear from a real racer; your prayers have been answered. The autobiographical accounts of Ken Schrader will have many folks sitting and laughing in stitches as they read it cover-to-cover. Although the book is over three hundred pages in length, by the time most readers have completed reading the stories within GOTTA RACE!; they will likely find themselves as did I. Shocked that the book was finished, smiling from ear-to-ear and kind of disappointed that there wasn’t any more of this book to read.

I think of GOTTA RACE! as four separate books that were published together. Part one is a biography of Kenny’s life. Part two Ken relates stories of many of the people he has met throughout his career. Part three is perhaps the best primer for anyone who ever wanted to know about going racing, what it is like to race, being in the business of racing, owning a race facility, being on television and the pluses and minuses along the way. The final section is the most detailed assembly of information I have ever seen documenting the history of one driver.

This book is incredibly enjoyable. I am sure that this would be a great gift for any race fan of any age or either gender. If there are people who are looking for classic literature, they will not find it here. However, what the reader will find are humble, humorous and wonderful stories spun off of the tongue of a Midwestern boy who never forgot where he came from. Schrader may have gotten older, wealthier and wiser (the wise part he might not admit to) but he never grew up: and that’s okay with me.

Joyce Standridge, who collaborated on this book with Kenny, really wrote this book in Schrader’s voice. The two have known each other for a long time and it shows. The book includes forewords by Rick Hendrick and our friend Bones Bourcier. Bones probably captures the essence of this book most aptly in his forewords. By the way, is Dr. Schrader in the house?

GOTTA RACE! captures Ken’s passion for the sport. Not just the racing either. It has been said that the best race teams always have the best people. Guess what most of this book is about…people. People who came through for the Schraders, people Ken never forgot and people who never forgot Kenny.

It was great to read about Dale, Jr.’s “Lost Weekend”. Chapter titles include: So That’s Why I Feel Sticky!, The Check’s Not Bad Until Monday and The Motorcycle’s Stuck in the Creek. Find out why the birdbath never had a chance.

I could tell everyone that this book is an expose about racing in general and in a way it is. The tales within don’t seem all that different than some of those spun around the campfires of the Whelen Modified Tour and weekly tracks everywhere. After completing this read I gained a ton of respect for Ken Schrader and mountains of admiration for his wife Ann. This book is an absolute must read.

GOTTA RACE! is available from Lew Boyd’s Coastal 181. Coastal 181 is the place to find the best reading for racers. To order GOTTA RACE! by phone call (toll free) 877-907-8181 or order it online from www.coastal181.com. Everyone’s GOTTA READ GOTTA RACE!