Hard Driving

“Donovan shows how Wendell Scott’s career was every bit as groundbreaking as Jackie Robinson’s feat of breaking baseball’s color barrier. Perhaps even more so.” — Tampa Tribune

“Donovan tells it like it was. . . . A copy of [this] masterpiece should be in every library in the country, inculding schools.” — Morris Stephenson in The Franklin News-Post

“Both a history and a sports classic.” — Detroit Free Press

“A fascinating book . . . a wonderful story about a really interesting guy.” — Toronto Star

“One of the most compelling sports biographies of this or any year. A must-read for NASCAR fans.” — (starred review) Booklist

“Donovan’s writing is well-paced and measured, clearly depicting the complex atmosphere of race relations in the segregated South. His extensive reporting, including interviews with Scott before he died in 1990, combined with his descriptive and enjoyable prose about racing, make this book a deeply compelling story.” — (starred review) Publishers Weekly

“Talk about a necessary sports biography. Hard Driving is unquestionably a winner.” — Robert Edelstein, author of Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner

“A surprisingly moving and powerful account of Wendell Scott’s utterly American Odyssey. It offers a window into a world not that far removed from our own, as we struggle still to judge each person, as Dr. King said, on the content of their character–not the color of their skin.” — Ken Burns, filmmaker, winner of three Emmy Awards, including one for Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

“Wendell Scott was to NASCAR what Jackie Robinson was to baseball. The difference was that Robinson played in liberal Brooklyn and had the backing of Branch Rickey, and Scott raced in the segregated South and hadÉnobody. The hard-working, dauntless Scott, like Robinson, should be a national hero. Until that day, he has Brian Donovan’s moving biography as his legacy.” — Peter Golenbock, author of Miracle: Bobby Allison and the Saga of the Alabama Gang