In 2001, Bob Wilber was entering his fifth season as the Team Manager and PR Rep for NHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Del Worsham. The team was also entering its fifth season with CSK Auto (a large auto parts retailer) as their primary sponsor. While the team had performed admirably in the first four years with CSK, they had only won one race on the NHRA tour. Somehow, Wilber decided to roll the dice and write a full-season diary in 2001, having no idea if the subject matter would be interesting or boring. It would be whatever it would be. He kept copious notes and wrote the diary throughout the calendar year, and in the end it was a season that Del Worsham said, "Changed our lives and careers." Wilber printed one copy, and put it away, not feeling yet justified as a writer to attempt to publish it. For 22 years it was lost. In 2023 it was found again. This is his work, as it was written "in the moment" during the 2001 season. It is The Lost Manuscript.
The Lost Manuscript: The True Story of One Year In The World of Professional Drag Racing
In 2001, Bob Wilber was entering his fifth season as the Team Manager and PR Rep for NHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Del Worsham. The team was also entering its fifth season with CSK Auto (a large auto parts retailer) as their primary sponsor. While the team had performed admirably in the first four years with CSK, they had only won one race on the NHRA tour. Somehow, Wilber decided to roll the dice and write a full-season diary in 2001, having no idea if the subject matter would be interesting or boring. It would be whatever it would be. He kept copious notes and wrote the diary throughout the calendar year, and in the end it was a season that Del Worsham said, "Changed our lives and careers." Wilber printed one copy, and put it away, not feeling yet justified as a writer to attempt to publish it. For 22 years it was lost. In 2023 it was found again. This is his work, as it was written "in the moment" during the 2001 season. It is The Lost Manuscript.