NASCAR writer to sign new book at Books N Things in Norway

NORWAY - NASCAR writer George Campbell, who recently debuted his new book, "Busch North Scene: A Ten Year Retrospective" will be signing copies of his book at Books N Things on Main Street in Norway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 4. The store will carry the book on its shelves through the holiday season as well.

"I really wanted to have the book available in the Oxford area as the book features so many stories and people that raced at Oxford Plains Speedway," Campbell said. "Oxford Plains Speedway is one of the tracks I covered the most in the book. I grew up within 10 miles of the track and have been to more races at OPS than any other track, and even raced there. Track owners Bob Bahre and Bill Ryan are mentioned and quoted throughout the book as are many former OPS racers like Dale Shaw, Tracy Gordon, Dave Dion, Mike Rowe, Joe Bessey and many more."

Campbell covered auto racing for a variety of national and regional publications in the 1990s. In 1999 he started his own news print publication, Busch North Scene. His goal was to cover NASCAR in the northeast region of the country with the newspaper. Within two years, George and the staff members had grown the paper into the number one selling NASCAR newspaper on newsstands through out much of New England.

The "Ten Year Retrospective" book recaps the racers, teams and events that shaped the publication and the NASCAR Busch North Series during the 2000 decade. The book has fun and informative personal reflections from George and Busch North Scene staff members, as well as many of the personalities that made the series popular in the decade.

The book gives NASCAR fans from New England an inside look at the stars from the region during the late 1990s and the 2000 decade. Within the book's 330+ pages are over 125 photos mixed with personal reflections and amusing anecdotes on the drivers and events. Among the drivers covered in the book are Maine racers Ricky Craven, Andy Santerre, Joe Bessey, Tracy Gordon and Kelly Moore. NASCAR Champions like Mike Olsen, Dave Dion, Brad Leighton, Dale Shaw and Joey Logano are featured as well.

"My intention with the book was to look back at the 2000 decade that I covered in depth with my newspaper and share some of the stories and insights on the drivers and events that made the sport so successful and fun during that time," Campbell said.

One of the chapters looks back at the tracks the series raced at in the 2000s. There is a detailed review of the one NASCAR race held at Oxford Plains Speedway in 2005, along with a photo from victory lane at that race. Another chapter about Ricky Craven has a rare photo of Craven in his #25 SpeeDee car at OPS in the early 1990s.

The book signing event is open to the public and will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 4. Both hardback and softbound copies of the book will be available for purchase and the author will be available to meet and greet attendees. Books N Things is located at 430 Main St. in Norway. Books N Things can be contacted on-line at bntnorway.com or by phone at 739-6200.

Detailed information on the book, including the complete index, can be found at www.buschsportscene.com.

For those that cannot attend, you can order copies by mail; just add $5 shipping for the first book, $8 for two books and $10 for three to five copies. Send check or money order to Busch Sport Scene, 542 Pleasant Pond Rd., Turner, ME 04282.