“PIT ROAD PETS: NASCAR STARS & THEIR PETS, THE SECOND LAP” BOOK HITS SHELVES THIS WEEKEND
NASCAR Personalities and Fans All Part of Ryan Newman Foundation’s Second Charity Book
BRISTOL, TENN. (March 20, 2010) – For Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman and wife Krissie, their six dogs aren’t just adored animals – they’re family.
This weekend, the Newmans will release their second book Pit Road: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, the Second Lap at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, which celebrates the NASCAR community and their beloved furry and sometimes even feathered families.
Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, the Second Lap, gives fans an intimate look at some of NASCAR’s most loved drivers both past and present, their families and their love for animals. Crew chiefs, broadcast personalities and the people who work behind the scenes at races each weekend are all part of this picturesque book.
“The book isn’t just the drivers,” Krissie Newman said. “We have the big personalities in the sport, but we also have a large contingent of the media broadcasters; we have the people who are behind the scenes like Jay Howard, who coordinates all of the pre-race activities; we have more team owners like Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick. This is the only book that encompasses every aspect of what racing is on a non-racing scale. And it’s really incredible to listen to the personal stories that they tell about their lives away from the racetrack.”
As the follow-up to the Newman’s first Pit Road Pets book which was published in 2006, The Second Lap even delves into the heart of NASCAR – its fans. Photographer Karen Will Rogers and a team of people traveled to three racetracks during the 2009 season – Bristol Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway – to meet and photograph NASCAR’s devoted fans and their pets.
“When we started planning our second book, it was really a no-brainer to include the fans,” Krissie Newman said. “The fans are really the heartbeat of this sport. NASCAR has the most unique and most dedicated fans out there, and we wanted to showcase them and their personalities and their love for animals in our book.
“In fact, it was a chance meeting with fans that really encouraged us to help animals and start the Ryan Newman Foundation. And I can’t tell you how many fans come up to either me or Ryan to tell us about their pets or who want us to meet their dogs. It just made sense.”
The book, which sells for $24.95, is available for purchase at www.RyanNewmanFoundation.org or at the racetrack on the No. 39 Ryan Newman souvenir trailer.
The proceeds from the first book helped build a regional spay/neuter clinic at the Humane Society of Catawba Count in Hickory, N.C. To date, The Ryan Newman Foundation S.N.I.P. clinic has already performed over 13,000 spay/neuter surgeries since their doors opened in 2007, preventing the death of hundreds of thousands of unwanted and stray animals.
With the release of The Second Lap, the Ryan Newman Foundation hopes to make an even bigger impact. One hundred percent of the Ryan Newman Foundation net proceeds will be donated to animal causes such as giving grants to families that can’t afford to spay or neuter their pets. The Ryan Newman Foundation also plans to build an animal education center in North Carolina that will serve as a model for animal welfare and education throughout the U.S.
For more information, visit www.RyanNewmanFoundation.org.
Mar 28, 2010 | | Books, Charity, NASCAR, Pets
Esther Bolick is one of the characters in Jan Karon’s Mitford books. She will be the first to tell you that she makes an Orange Mamalade Cake that is to die for. Esther takes her cake to everything. Weddings, funerals, church social, whatever is happening in Mitford.
This cake was a big part of Mitford. It wasn’t long before readers started requesting the recipe. But, there was a problem. There was no recipe. So, Victoria magazine, where Karon was writer-in-residence, hired Atlanta chef Scott Peacock to develop one. Now you can have the recipe also.
Esther’s Orange Marmalade Layer Cake
Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten lightly
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Orange Syrup:
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling:
Frosting:
- 3/4 cup well-chilled heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 cup well-chilled sour cream
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans, line with parchment or waxed paper, and butter and flour paper, shaking out excess.
In a bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until combined, add sugar, a little at a time, and beat mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange zest and vanilla. Beat in a third of dry ingredients alternately with half of buttermilk until combined well. Add half remaining dry ingredients and remaining buttermilk and beat until combined well. Finally, beat in remaining dry ingredients until mixture is smooth.
Evenly divide the batter between the pans, smooth the surface, rap each pan on the counter to expel any air pockets or bubbles, then transfer to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to racks and cool in the pans for 20 minutes.
Orange Syrup: In a bowl, stir together orange juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
With a toothpick or wooden skewer, poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in the cake layers and spoon the syrup over each layer, allowing the syrup to be completely absorbed before adding the remaining. Let layers cool completely, then remove from the baking pans.
Filling: In a small saucepan set over moderate heat, heat the marmalade until just melted. Let cool 5 minutes.
Frosting: In a bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the sugar until it forms firm peaks. Add the sour cream, a little at a time, and whisk until of spreading consistency.
To assemble: Arrange one of the layers on a cake plate, carefully peel off the waxed paper, then spread two-thirds of the marmalade over the top, smoothing it into an even layer. Invert the remaining layer onto the top of the first layer, peel off the waxed paper and spoon the remaining marmalade onto the center of it, leaving a 1 1/4-inch border around the edge. Frost the sides and top of border with the frosting, leaving the marmalade on top of cake exposed.
Or if you prefer, frost the entire cake, adding marmalade as a garnish on top. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Makes 1 cake, 10 to 12 servings.
Jun 06, 2008 | | Books, Family, Mitford, Recipes
There was a time in my life that I collected “Murphy” things. That is a story that will take a post of it’s own. You may see it and you may not. I found a cute little snowman on eBay named Murphy. When he arrived I learned that he was part of the Hallmark Mitford Collection. While purchasing another one at the local Hallmark store, the owner asked if I had read the books. I didn’t even know there were books.
About a month later, my parents gave me a box set of the first four paperbacks in Jan Karon’s Mitford series for Christmas. That was the beginning. The set included:
- AT HOME IN MITFORD
- A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW
- THESE HIGH, GREEN HILLS
- OUT TO CANAAN
I read the books as though they were one book. I couldn’t put them down. I laughed out loud and even teared up a few times. Then I had to wait almost a year for the next one. Of course, I didn’t wait for the paperback. I even ended up with the first four in hardback. These books are wonderful. No smut, no sex, no bad language. But they are the most entertaining books I have ever read.
The main character is Father Timothy Kavanaugh, a sixty-two year old Episcopal priest who takes in a huge black dog he names Barnabas and a mountain boy named Dooley. They change his life, but it is his neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith, who turns his world upside down. You meet all the citizens of Mitford, North Carolina and come to know them as though they are your own neighbors. As I was reading, I pictured the characters as people I know and could hear their voices. Mitford is the place where we all want to live, a small town that takes care of it’s own.
Over the years Ms Karon wrote five more books in the series:
- A NEW SONG
- A COMMON LIFE
- IN THIS MOUNTAIN
- SHEPHERDS ABIDING
- LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
I have recommended these books to several people. They all had that look that said they didn’t want to read them. I loaned the first book to a friend and a few days later she came back asking for the second one. I also gave the first book to another friend as a birthday gift. She ended up reading the series also. If you visit some of the discussion groups you will hear the same story over and over again. If someone reads the first book they are hooked.
I was very sad when the the series ended. It is the kind of story you want to go on forever. I wasn’t sad for long though. Ms Karon has started another series about Father Tim’s early life. The first book in THE FATHER TIM NOVELS is HOME TO HOLLY SPRINGS. It is every bit as good as the first series. I hope anyone who reads this will consider reading these books and that they touch your life the way they did mine.
Jun 06, 2008 | | Books, Mitford
