Bob Wilber worked in public relations for NHRA stars like Del Worsham, Whit Bazemore and Tim Wilkerson for two decades. He wrote a column for National Dragster for three years and also started a popular blog 15 years ago.

But to become an author for the first time, it required something entirely different.

“I had to learn an entirely new way to write,” Wilber said.

Thus began Wilber’s 16-month labor of love that started on Jan. 6, 2016 and came to fruition on May 22, 2017 with the release of his highly-anticipated “Bats, Balls and Burnouts” autobiography with publisher Outskirts Press, a thrilling 545-page journey detailing Wilber’s unique life.

From growing up as the son of a Major League Baseball catcher (Del Wilber) and radio personality (Taffy Wilber), the memoir revisits all of Wilber’s fascinating life turns, including his own stint in professional baseball, a successful sports marketing career, time in professional indoor soccer and his introduction to NHRA drag racing. As the 2015 season concluded with Wilkerson, and with 20 years in the book working in PR with NHRA drivers, Wilber knew it was time for his next challenge.

The idea of a writing book had been on his mind for some time and after getting the approval from his wife, Wilber started a Kickstarter campaign. With a goal of $20,000, Wilber was quickly blown away by the support from the NHRA family.

Worsham, Antron Brown and Ron Capps were just some of the names that donated, with Bob Vandergriff putting him over the top the night before the campaign expired. A dream had become reality and Wilber knew the responsibility that awaited him.

“I knew I had to keep everyone entertained,” Wilber said. “When you close that book at the end, it has to be a coherent, straight line and a story that makes sense. I want the book to be humorous, to be touching and it was a fabulous, interesting process for me. I had to be an author, not a writer, but by the time I was done, I was leaps and bounds better as a writer.”

The process was arduous, but Wilber quickly found his writing groove. Per the suggestion of his talented editor, Greg Halling, Wilber simply wrote everything that came to mind. At the start, he would write for 2-3 hours in the morning, repeating the scenario later in the day.

When it came to the drag racing years, he spent the morning doing detailed research, meticulously churning through each race, writing down details on a notepad. From there, he would spend the afternoon writing, with his biggest challenge making all the numbers readable and enjoyable.

“All those stats, how do I make it interesting? That was my challenge,” Wilber said. “I had to find the stories to connect all those stats, the ups and downs, how it felt, all those subplots. But the biggest challenge was expressing what winning a race is like. Greg told me to write it all, so I just turned the spigot on and wrote.”

What he quickly realized in recalling all the success was that nothing in his career quite compared to winning a Wally.

“Every time you win a race, it’s like a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning,” Wilber said. “I never experienced anything in baseball like winning a race. To win a race, it’s just pure joy and it flows out so fast, and that’s why you see those celebrations. “Winning in Indy, when Del doubled-up (winning the U.S. Nationals and the Skoal Showdown bonus event in 2005), I’ve never felt that much emotion coming out at once. Those are the stories I tried to tell. That’s what helps tie all the stat stuff together.”

Wilber’s journey to reach the NHRA was one-of-a-kind as well. After working for Converse in southern California, Wilber accept a position as general manager at Heartland Park Topeka 1991. Teamed up with Bill Kentling at the Topeka facility, it was there where Wilber saw his first drag race.

By the time the NHRA event rolled into town later in the season, Wilber was hooked.

“There was never a plan or expectation to be in any kind of racing,” Wilber said. “I didn’t know anything about it. The last event of that first season in Topeka was a NHRA event. I was just flabbergasted by it. It knocked me off my feet how great it was and I instantly knew I wanted to be involved with NHRA.”

Wilber joked he “went broke a couple times” trying to get that career going, but perseverance, hard work and a few dominoes falling his way enabled a magical and memorable 20-year tale.

It also made for a great story, one that kept flowing throughout the writing process. Wilber’s first proof included 800,000 words and with intense editing – Wilber estimates he and Halling made 20 passes from front to back – it was trimmed to 545 pages. Wilber said he will explore the idea of writing a second book or possibly moving into biographies, but for now he is going to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He will be signing and selling books at a number of NHRA events starting at Route 66 Raceway in July and he has already been blown away by the response.

But, then again, Wilber has definitely had a life worth telling.

“I stand back and look at this, I realize how fortunate I was, starting with the fact of the family I was born into,” Wilber said. “It was really exciting to do it. It was a life-altering moment when I worked for Del and he allowed me to write about it in such great detail. It was all such a great experience.”

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