"Describes some of the greatest moments in NASCAR history, including photo finishes, wild wrecks, and intense rivalries between drivers"--Provided by publisher.
Each week of the racing season produces new excitement for the drivers and fans of NASCAR. Some weeks have produced the kind of heart-stopping moments that etch a race into the hearts and minds of fans. Those are the great races. The races featured in this book are stops along a time line that has spanned five decades of an American tradition. From the formative days on the hard-packed dirt tracks to the modern era of the superspeedway, every race has unfolded with its own unique story. NASCAR polled drivers, members of the media, and fans to select the twenty-five greatest NASCAR races. The resulting NASCAR Greatest Races is a panorama of the NASCAR experience. There are fabulous finishes, amazing comebacks, classic duels, and transforming milestones. Events such as the Rayson Memorial of 1948, NASCAR's first race, and the 1979 Daytona 500, the first NASCAR race shown live wire-to-wire on network television, helped shape NASCAR's history. The spotlight has fallen on individual drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and Jeff Gordon, rivalries like that between Richard Petty and David Pearson, or photo finishes like the one that confirmed Lee Petty's victory in the inaugural Daytona 500 of 1959. NASCAR Greatest Races pairs more than one hundred full-color and black-and-white action-packed, historic shots with eyewitness accounts and personal reflections from the actors in this revved-up arena. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing begins its second half-century as the fastest growing major spectator sport in the United States. Nearly six million people attended NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in 1998 and more than 150 million watched the action on television. NASCAR also sanctions twelve other touring series as well as races at more than 130 tracks throughout the nation.
Think of it as a 180 mph race through racing history. To welcome NASCAR fans back to its airwaves in July 2007, ESPN will air a special, seven-hour programming extravaganza. The celebration kicks off in February with a five-month countdown of stock car racings 100 most significant moments. For diehard fans of the nations fastest growing sport, ESPN Ultimate NASCAR provides an irresistible sneak peak at the fireworks to comea turbo-charged, four-color, pedal-to-the-metal ride through sixty years of racetrack lore, featuring all of NASCARs royal familes: the Pettys, the Yarboroughs, the Allisons, the Earnhardts, and, of course, the Frances. From the sports birth in Daytona to the shocking crash that killed Dale Earnhardt, from the dirt track wizardry of Junior Johnson to the multi-billion dollar Nextel Cup showdowns of today, ESPN Ultimate NASCAR is a packed track of thrills, chills, spillsand occasional fistfightsall fueled by high octane photos and graphics.
With its insider's look into the world of auto racing, My Greatest Day in NASCAR is a must-have for all racing fans. Here are the words of Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, and many others--all talking about their greatest racing moments. For the first time ever, Bob McCullough has brought together a first-person account of the most exciting races, personal achievements, and events for the last 50 years. Fans get to read both an oral history of racing and a moving tribute to the efforts and achievements of the sports stars as well as the behind-the-scenes people who help make racing what it is today.
A guide to NASCAR drivers including over 80 of the top drivers from the sport's inception to the present. Drivers are covered with photographs, year-by-year and track-by-track statistics.
Engaging a medley of perspectives and methodologies, The Sporting World of the Modern South examines how sports map the social, political, and cultural landscapes of the modern South. In essays on the "backcountry" fighter stereotypes portrayed in modern professional wrestling and the significance of Crimson Tide coaching legend Paul "Bear" Bryant for white Alabamians, contributors explore the symbols that have shaped southern regional identities since the Civil War. Other essays tackle gender and race relations in intercollegiate athletics, uncover the roles athletic competitions played in desegregating the South, and address the popularity of NASCAR in the southern states. Pairing the action and anecdotes of good sports writing with rock-solid scholarship, The Sporting World of the Modern South adds historical and anthropological perspectives to legends and lore from the gridiron to the racetrack. This collection, with its innovative attention to the interplay between athletics and regional identity, is an insightful and compelling contribution to southern and sports history.
The first major authorized biography of NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr. Big Bill is the consummate "insider" book on the life and legend of NASCAR founder Bill France and tells the tale of a classic American success story. France Sr. brought his family to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1934, put down roots and immersed himself in the business of racing, both as a driver and an owner. Nicknamed "Big Bill" because of his 6-foot-5 stature, he made significant contributions to the racing world - he founded NASCAR in December 1947, built Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and built Talladega Superspeedway in 1969, and landed the landmark R.J. Reynolds/Winston sponsorship deal in 1971 that not only transformed NASCAR but also transformed corporate sponsorship of sports in America. The France family has spent the last 30 years gathering a vast collection of files and material about their family patriarch and has turned over countless interviews -- both written and taped -- as well as NASCAR documents, memorabilia, memos, letters and various other materials to the author for this definitive biography. Big Bill offers NASCAR fans a rich, entertaining, emotional, and detailed story about America's most recognized and admired racing family.