Pets give NASCAR drivers warm-fuzzies
Published: May 23, 2006
With 43 drivers in the starting field of every NASCAR Nextel Cup race, there’s no escaping the hard truth that every workday ends with one guy basking in Victory Lane and 42 heading home in a funk. Who consoles a stock-car racer after his day has been ruined by a blown tire, an ill-handling racecar or contact with a concrete wall?
In many cases: their pets.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of day I’ve had on the racetrack or at home,” says two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, whose Chihuahua, Kayle, fits in one hand. “Kayle helps change my mood in a hurry.”
The bond between NASCAR’s hard-charging drivers and their furry, four-footed pals is the subject of “Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets,” a 164-page hardcover book chock-full of anecdotes from nearly 50 NASCAR personalities about how they came to find, and love, their dogs, cats and other critters; handsome pictures of them cuddling together off the track; and, best of all, a strong message with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to a worthy cause.
The message: Consider adopting from local animal shelters and, regardless, spay and neuter pets.
The beneficiary: Humane causes, including a regional, low-cost spay-neuter clinic serving eight North Carolina counties in the heart of NASCAR country.
The book was the idea of Krissie Newman, 28, who serves on the board of the Humane Society of Catawba County in Hickory, N.C., and is married to Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge. The couple share their home with four dogs - a German Shepherd mix Krissie adopted while in college (Digger, named for Digger Phelps) and three they have taken in together (Harley, Mopar and Socks). That’s just a handful of the dogs and puppies the Newmans have rescued and steered to homes.
She spearheaded the book, by photographer Karen Will Rogers and writer Laura Lacy, as a way to make a more sustained contribution for homeless animals.
“I just think everybody in the racing industry has a big, open heart,” Krissie Newman said in an interview. “And animals seem to touch us just like children. I know our four dogs are basically our kids.”
You don’t have to follow NASCAR to enjoy the book; the sentiments of pet owners are universal. But even hard-core NASCAR junkies may learn something new about their favorite drivers by skimming the text or scanning the photos of drivers fawning over their pets as if they’re hoisting the Daytona 500 trophy.
Says three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, whose family includes dogs Daisy, Olivia and Trusty and cats Hobie Cat and Ethan Joe: “Most of the drivers have really soft hearts, but they can’t let you see that side of them at the track because they’re so competitive and such tough guys. Even (the late Dale) Earnhardt was that way.”
The son of the seven-time champion is no different, it appears. He’s pictured beaming beside his bulldog, Killer.
“Our personalities are really the same: We’re real laid-back. We like to sleep and lay around,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. says. “He’s kind of a reason to be happy, especially if you’ve had a bad day or if you get kind of selfish and start feeling like, ‘I didn’t get what I wanted out of the day.’ It’s just like how your friends can cheer you up; your dog can, too. It’s a good reality-check that there are more important things going on in the world than what you are trying to achieve that day, that moment.”
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