The Crew Chief’s Son

In this memoir, Michael Clements recounts growing up in the early days of stock car racing. From 1957 through 1965, his father, Louie, travelled the NASCAR circuit, bringing his wife and five children along to every race. Owner and crew chief for champion driver Rex White, Louie introduced many mechanical innovations still used in NASCAR today, and his children grew up on the road between races, befriending many racing legends along the way. Clements’ memoir is full of stories about NASCAR’s early era and the men and women who built the sport. It includes a wealth of never-before-seen photographs from his personal collection.

The late Michael L. Clements was a contributing editor and writer for National Kart News Magazine, Karter News Magazine, and World Karting Scene magazine. Winner of four consecutive Grand National Karting Championships, Mike also set a World Land Speed record for karts in 1992 which still stands today for the fastest four-stroke kart. He lived in South Carolina.

Michael L. Clements
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: 169 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4954-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6205-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. 1941–1956: The Early Years      3
2. 1957: Auto Factories Get Heavily Involved      13
3. 1958: Racing with Cotton Owens      29
4. 1959: The Formation of White and Clements, Inc.       44
5. 1960: Our Championship Season      70
6. 1961: Trying to Defend Our Championship      117
7. 1962: She’s Real Fine, My 409      163
8. 1963: The Chevy 427 Mystery Engine      213
9. 1964: Working on the Hemi Engines      261
10. 1965: Chevy Is Back      283

Index      293

• “A worthwhile look into a vanished world and a description of a childhood most of us would have loved to have”—SAH Journal
• “His well-illustrated book is dominated by often detailed accounts of the various races, each with its successes and frustrations, and sometimes with tragedies. But where the book is at its best comes when Michael takes us beyond the race results and into his dad’s garage and onto pit road, and when he shares stories about family life, from his adventures with his cousin Gary to the times when racers shared family dinners”—racingamerica.com
• “Michael takes us beyond the race results and into his dad’s garage and onto the pit road”—Larry Edsall, iZoom.