It doesn’t seem all that long ago that NASCAR was the new kid on the block, a southern sport looking to gain a foothold on a national stage. Unless a person was in attendance, the only glimpse the outside world had of NASCAR was an occasional segment on ABC and later of course live coverage of the Daytona 500.
As the transformation began from a regional oddity to a national phenomenon NASCAR still had wisps of its past; men who were called King, Fireball, Shorty, Tiny and Buck. They raced with towels in their mouth, cheated the rules to find another mile per hour. They threw each other in the hotel pool after a drunken celebration, cussed like sailors, and occasionally died doing their chosen profession.
They were grateful for the fans, humble to those who wrote the checks and ready to trade fists with the driver who crashed them out of the race. The sport was overseen by men larger than life, ‘Big’ Bill, ‘Cannonball’ Baker and ‘Barky’ Barkhimer. The men who first officiated the sport weren’t afraid to lay down the law, keep drivers from racing if they felt that was the right thing to do for the sport. Drivers trembled in their presence. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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