"New York Times"-bestselling author McCrumb's sweet, laugh-out-loud funny novel, one of her most appealing yet, begins with an irresistible premise--an all-female NASCAR team. All-female except for its driver, who is a sexy bad boy who loves women, cigarettes, and fast cars. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Bestseller McCrumb (St. Dale; Ghost Riders) returns to the world of NASCAR in this middling tale of modern celebrity. Badger Jenkins, a shy, good old boy from Marengo, Ga., whose days of racing stardom have come and gone, is recruited by a syndicate of women investors to drive their new car. The car's primary sponsor is Vagenya (sounds like Virginia), a Viagra-like product for women, and the team will field an all-female crew. Besides the inscrutable but lovable Badger, there's Grace Tuggle, the gruff crew chief; Melodie Albigre, Jenkins's predatory agent; and Melanie Sark, a duplicitous publicist who's secretly planning to write an exposé of NASCAR. Add the competing agendas to an inexperienced pit crew, and Team Vagenya seems to be headed for a pileup long before it gets to victory lane. NASCAR fans will enjoy the time spent at the track, but the pedestrian plotting and unsurprising outcome hinder the novel like sugar in a gas tank. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

McCrumb follows the success of St. Dale, a takeoff on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales revolving around the legendary Dale Earnhardt, with another novel about NASCAR, the American sport second only to pro football. The creators of the drug Vagenya (think Viagra for women) seek to sponsor an all-female NASCAR team with an attractive male driver. Pretty-faced, good ol' boy Badger Jenkins is offered what may be his last chance racing. McCrumb gets a fast start with lots of laughs during the selection and building of the female team but then settles down to business as she focuses on Badger and crew member Taran Stiles, a serious Badger fan. Aside from Taran and Badger (a truly admirable guy), most of the other characters are rather two-dimensional, but the cult of the fan and NASCAR drivers as modern-day knights are explored in full. For public libraries with NASCAR or McCrumb fans. Rebecca Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

It's almost a giant step for womankind-an all-female NASCAR pit crew sponsored by the female equivalent of Viagra. But they still need a driver. Enter pretty boy Badger Jenkins, the poster child for passive aggression. With his polite, Southern, laid-back manner, Badger will agree to anything but never follow through. Once he puts on his fire suit, however, he morphs into the dangerously handsome, daredevil race-car driver who has stolen the hearts of females everywhere. McCrumb, who canonized NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt in her novel St. Dale (2006), imagines yet another contemporary racing legend. This book is populated with strong female characters, from the tough, competent crew chief to the determined attorney to Badger's ruthless manager. And McCrumb's detailed descriptions of the pit crew at work are so strong you can almost smell the motor oil. Readers who can't get enough of Pamela Britton's NASCAR series, including On the Edge (2006) and To the Limit (2007), will be happy to add McCrumb to their list of must-reads. Mosley, Shelley. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.