Butterworth is, admittedly, at his best when detailing the skills and emotions that go into a successful performance on the racing oval. But neither the sophomoric witticisms exchanged by Gregg Ferris with his egotistical cousin Dewey and a rather bitchy girl named Helen for whom they are competing, nor Gregg's ostensible problem -- the opposition of his uncle, a professional driver, to his entering the family trade -- are likely to hold anyone's attention in the intervals between races. Most fans can afford to sit this one out.