Dutton, Monte 1958-

views updated

Dutton, Monte 1958-

PERSONAL:

Born April 8, 1958, in Clinton, SC. Education: Furman University, B.A. (cum laude), 1980. Hobbies and other interests: Alt-country/ Americana music, writing songs, playing guitar, golf.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Clinton, SC.

CAREER:

Journalist. Served as sports editor for semi-weekly newspaper in SC; Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Spartanburg, SC, writer, 1993; FasTrack, Gastonia, NC, motorsports writer and editor, 1994-95; Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC, motorsports writer, 1996—; author of "NASCAR This Week," King Features Syndicate; columnist for AOL Sports.

MEMBER:

National Motorsports Press Association (vice president, 1996-98), Eastern Motorsports Press Association (regional vice president, 2002).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Winner of five writing awards, South Carolina Press Association, 1985-94; best sports column, National Newspaper Association, 1994; winner of five writing awards, National Motorsports Press Association, 1994-2003; Frank Blunk Memorial Award, Eastern Motorsports Press Association, 1999; received five writing awards, Eastern Motorsports Press Association, 2000; best feature article, Racing Milestones, 2003, for profile of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

WRITINGS:

NASCAR: The Thunder of America, HarperHorizon (New York, NY), 1998.

At Speed: Up Close and Personal with the People, Places, and Fans of NASCAR, Brassey's (Washington, DC), 2000.

Jeff Gordon: The Racer, Thomas Nelson (Nashville, TN), 2000.

Rebel with a Cause: A Season with NASCAR Star Tony Stewart, Brassey's (Washington, DC), 2001.

Taking Stock: Life in NASCAR's Fast Lane, Brassey's (Washington, DC), 2002.

Postcards from Pit Road: Inside NASCAR's 2002 Season, Brassey's, (Washington, DC), 2003.

Haul A** and Turn Left: The Wit and Wisdom of NASCAR, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed, University of Nebraska Press (Lincoln, NE), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including FasTrack, Area Auto Racing News, Racing Milestones, and Performance Racing News.

SIDELIGHTS:

Monte Dutton is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering NASCAR since 1993. Dutton is also the author of several biographies and works of nonfiction, including At Speed: Up Close and Personal with the People, Places, and Fans of NASCAR and Rebel with a Cause: A Season with NASCAR Star Tony Stewart. "I believe stock-car racers are the last vestiges of the folk heroes who once dominated the American sporting landscape," Dutton remarked on the King Features Web site. "Sadly, their number is dwindling, but what catches my attention first, when I see a young driver beginning to emerge, is a perceived potential for stardom beyond just the bland figures on the stat sheets."

At Speed collects a number of Dutton's columns about the Winston Cup circuit. Bill Fleischman, writing in the Philadelphia Daily News, praised the "entertaining and informative" work. In Rebel with a Cause, Dutton profiles the magnificent 2000 Winston Cup season of one of NASCAR's most compelling figures. That year Stewart won six races, more than any other driver, and became involved in a well-publicized on-track incident with fellow driver Jeff Gordon. "Dutton's glimpses of this brash, hard-talking young driver will please fans looking for a successor to Dale Earnhardt," noted a critic in Publishers Weekly.

An avid fan of alternative country music, Dutton published True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed in 2006. The work contains interviews with such singer-songwriters as Jerry Jeff Walker, Pat Green, and Robert Earl Keen, Jr. According to Booklist reviewer Ray Olson, "Dutton's a cranky, congenial fan; and the book's golden."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2006, Ray Olson, review of True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed, p. 10.

Philadelphia Daily News, August 31, 2000, Bill Fleischman, "Author Delivers Insight, Humor," review of At Speed: Up Close and Personal with the People, Places, and Fans of NASCAR.

Publishers Weekly, May 21, 2001, review of Rebel with a Cause: A Season with NASCAR Star Tony Stewart, p. 94.