But Will the Drivers be Named Thorn and Steele?

A deal was announced yesterday that Harlequin plans to go in circles with licensed plotlines centering on NASCAR. The series begins with a Daytona 500 tie-in novel entitled In the Groove by Pamela Britton due in January 2006. The author’s website states that the heroine of the novel “wouldn’t know a NASCAR star if he hit her with his car-and he just did.”

No word yet on if the series will feature ripped bodices that are flame-retardant and covered in sponsor logos.