Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we have reports from The Weather Channel, Autoweek and The Paris Review.
Despite Warnings, Track Officials Waited an Hour Before Evacuating Fans from Dangerous Weather – The Weather Channel
ICYMI, the Daytona 500 was crazy wet. So why were fans kept out of the loop of information about the severe weather warnings before finally being moved inside?
According to Andrew Booth, senior manager of public relations at the speedway, making the call to clear the stands in the event of severe weather is the specific domain of track officials and not NASCAR. Booth said that while Daytona International Speedway does not have a meteorologist on staff, they work closely with the NWS-Melbourne for updates on weather that could potentially affect the track.
Budd XR-400: The AMC Mustang that wasn't – Autoweek
I adore the AMC Javelin, but it would've been awesome if AMC built this before.
Look past the XR-400's quad headlamps and somewhat fussy notched beltline, though, and the long-hood-short-deck proportions of both cars are incredibly similar. That a Budd designer toiling away at his drafting table, (presumably) completely isolated from the stylists at Ford, could preview the Mustang so accurately with the XR-400 is eerie.
Writing the Lake Shore Limited – The Paris Review
The train isn't usually the way to travel if you want to get somewhere in a hurry. However, it's great for getting work done Like writing.
Why do writers find the train such a fruitful work environment? In the wake of Chee's interview, Evan Smith Rakoff tweeted, "I've been on Amtrak a lot lately & love writing while traveling—a set, uninterrupted deadline." The writer Anne Korkeakivi described train travel as "suspended impregnable time," combined with "dreamy" forward motion: "like a mantra, it greases the brain."
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