Lightning in a Bottle

Barrie Jarman is the hope of racing's future because he is a link to its past. The teen-aged native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, is talented, articulate, intelligent, brash, and mischievous. To the image-conscious braintrust that runs the sport, Barrie is a wild Mustang - and, yes, he drives one - who must be broken. Ain't no way. The yarn is told mostly through the narration of Uncle Charlie, a racing veteran who took in Barrie at age 16 and helped him get a shot at the big time. Only Charlie, it seems, can nudge Barrie in the right direction, and only Charlie knows when it's time to get out of his way. Monte Dutton's sixth novel is an ode to his acknowledged field of expertise. For twenty years, Dutton crisscrossed the country, writing about automobile racing.