In his fifth motorsports book "Racing In The 906," Joe Verdegan tells the tales of stock car racers from the rugged Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Verdegan covers all the action dating back from the 1950s to the modern day. Verdegan profiles many popular drivers who battled at tracks in Escanaba, Norway, Marquette and Kinross in the Soo region near the Canadian border.
The book is dedicated to the late Bob Iverson, who passed away in 2018. Iverson, along with Menominee's Gene Coleman are two "yoopers" inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame. Iverson dominated racing during both the winged modified and late model eras, while Coleman's mark in racing has been made nationwide through his innovative racing parts business Coleman Machine.
Both the Iverson and Coleman racing families are covered extensively along with Mike and Kris Kelly, Mike Mattson, Allen Yelle and Bark River native Greg Ives, who packed his bags and left the comfortable family business to move to Charlotte to work as a crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports at NASCAR's highest level.
For many years there were spirited rivalries with the Canadian and American drivers. Canadian standouts Hubie Brazeau and Mike Uhlman are just two of many drivers who are featured in "Racing in the 906."
The book covers all the checkers and wreckers, the fights and the victories. More than 200 drivers (past and present) were interviewed for "Racing in the 906," along with track promoters who discussed in-depth their highs and lows in the sometimes crazy, and always challenging business of weekly short track racing.
Verdegan has previously penned four other books covering motorsports history. In 2015, Verdegan released "Life In The Past Lane – A history of stock car racing in Northeast Wisconsin from 1950-1980." "Wisconsin International Raceway – Where The Big Ones Run" was published in 2016, while Verdegan's third book, "Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation" was launched in 2017.Verdegan's first three books were published through M and B Global Solutions of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Verdegan's fourth book "The Bird & The Bear" was published by Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis. Pedal Down Promotions has also published "Racing In The 906."