NHRA Top Fuel Great Gwynn Reaches Book Deal with David Bull Publishing
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 31, 2001PHOENIX -- Former NHRA champion Darrell Gwynn has reached an agreement with David Bull Publishing and writer Erik Arneson to share his life story.
Recently named one of the NHRA's "50 Greatest Drivers of All Time," Gwynn and his father, Jerry, co-own the Top Fuel dragster driven by Mike Dunn with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and Steinbrenner's son, Hank. The car holds the NHRA speed record of 330.55 mph.
A rising star in the world of drag racing in the 1980s, Gwynn was involved in a horrific crash on Easter Sunday in 1990 during an exhibition race at England's Santa Pod Raceway. Confined to a wheelchair, his left arm amputated, Gwynn battled back to prominence in the 6,000-horsepower Top Fuel world as a team owner, partnering with the Yankees in 2001.
Said Gwynn: "I'm looking forward to reminiscing and sharing with the world the racing, the family and the business side of Darrell Gwynn."
For Bull, whose Phoenix-based company has published books on NASCAR greats Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Junior Johnson as well as CART champion Bobby Rahal, this marks his first effort in the drag racing arena.
"Darrell has a remarkable history of overcoming enormous obstacles and successfully reaching the next level," Bull said. "His experience cuts across motor sports boundaries and illuminates the larger theme of how each of us manages challenges in our lives. I'm excited to be working with him and Erik to tell that story."
Arneson, who currently works in motor sports public relations, covered NHRA drag racing for three years at USA TODAY and now is a featured columnist for RacingOne.com.
"As a reporter, sometimes you are working on an article and struggling to find enough good information to make a story compelling," said Arneson, who received the NHRA's Media Award in 1998 and now lives with his family in Charlotte, N.C. "With Darrell, it has always been the opposite. I never felt like I could do his story justice in the space constraints of a newspaper or magazine.
"There is so much more to the Darrell Gwynn story than what he's done at the track. He and his family stand out as special people, not only in the racing community, but in everyday life."
Text provided by Scott Sebastian
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