These NASCAR fans' story is one for the book

This weekend, beyond the nomadic village of NASCAR fans -- where the first person to fire up the grill gets to host dozens of otherwise sane people who spend weekends in tents or custom-designed buses with names like Hillbilly Hotel and Redneck Express -- Christine and Steve Deuker will search for driver Ryan Newman, a favorite son who reminds them of their favorite son they so dearly miss.

"Last year, when we went to Daytona, I chatted with Ryan Newman's mom -- like two moms watching their son race," said Christine Deuker, 57, a Blaine High School teacher. "I can't wait to see him."

The Deukers' relationship with driver Ryan Newman can be described as remarkable; indeed, it's featured in the just-published book, "The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans." Author Andrew Giangola describes the relationship that fans -- including Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise -- have with the sport, the drivers and each other.

"They're all compelling people," Giangola said, "but of all the stories, it was the Deukers' that blew me away."

The first time Christine Deuker saw Newman out from behind the wheel, she was mesmerized. The smile, Newman's analytical nature, even his hand gestures . ... She'd seen it all before.

"It's Joe," she thought to herself, envisioning her 18-year-old son, Joseph Held, who died suddenly from an illness in 2001.

Deuker's husband, Steve, noticed it too -- how Newman would look down and go deep into thought before speaking -- just like his stepson, Joe.

The Deukers, racing fans who spent their honeymoon in Daytona, Fla., wanted Newman to know how he'd become a hero to them. After learning of the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Commemorative Brick Program, they bought a brick for the Hall's Ceremonial Plaza, slated to open this year in Charlotte, N.C., with this inscription:

"To Ryan Newman: Your demeanor reflects a soul U never met. In you we see our son, Joseph Held."

When Giangola set out to write his book, he had plenty of subjects to work with. He interviewed one fan, a crane inspector who was 450 feet above ground while talking up NASCAR on his cell phone for 15 minutes. Another invited him into her basement -- a NASCAR shrine. Others were so hospitable that he nearly called his book, "You hungry?"

But the Deukers, of Anoka, were something else.

They made eye contact with Newman at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee in 2003. Christine shook Newman's hand in 2006. But Newman had never heard their story until last year.

"I was really touched," Newman told the Star Tribune a year ago. "As drivers, I don't think that we truly realize the impact that we have on our fans. When you hear these personal stories from fans, you can't help but be moved."

Giangola witnessed their meeting last year at Daytona and walked away thinking, "This is unbelievable."

But Christine Deuker, who learned to appreciate race car driving while growing up in Milwaukee, and her husband, a wheel-chair technician who became infatuated with racing as a teenager in Arizona, haven't exactly been letting their engines idle since learning of Giangola's book.

"There really is a spectrum of people that NASCAR attracts," Christine said. "There are motorheads, the wives of motorheads, characters and people who just blend in. And I thought: Wouldn't it make for a joyous time if we could get these people together?"

She's contacted several people mentioned in "The Weekend Starts on Wednesday." She said that at least a dozen will meet face-to-face this weekend at Daytona.

Giangola will be there, too, to launch his book. And among those receiving copies will be Ryan Newman.

"Ryan's publicist asked if we would sign books for Ryan," Christine said.

"Yes, wow is right!"

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419