Driving With The Devil
by: Neal Thompson
Driving With The Devil
by Neal Thompson
Crown Publishing
“We believe strongly that the old Southeastern redneck heritage that we had is no longer in existence. But we also realize that there's going to have to be an effort on our part to convince others to understand that.”
- Mike Helton, NASCAR President in 2006
Neal Thompson’s Driving with the Devil cannot be considered just another book about the history of NASCAR. Instead, Thompson, focuses on the cultural history of NASCAR and how that culture shaped the fervent fan base the sport has enjoyed in the South for many decades.
Although NASCAR officially formed in 1948 at a meeting in Daytona Beach, Florida, stock car racing had already been a grass roots Southern sport for more than a decade. Thompson points out that this was due to Henry Ford’s Model T and its almost immediate use in the ever present business of moonshining that was crucial part of the fabric of the South at that time.
Thompson juxtaposes Atlanta versus Daytona throughout. Raymond Parks led the Atlanta contingent. Born more than 90 years ago in Dawsonville, Georgia, Parks first got into moonshining as a teenager. Parks moved to Atlanta where he quickly built a business empire on moonshine revenues buying up liquor stores, gas stations, and other real estate. Parks soon became one of the first stock car team owners.
Down in Daytona, Bill France focused his energies as a driver at first and then became a race promoter. This is where the history of NASCAR begins as far as NASCAR is concerned. Today, Bill France and his family have built NASCAR into an international sports and entertainment conglomerate. It is natural that they would draw a distinction between NASCAR and early years of stock car racing. However, the same hard core southern race fans that supported racing in the early days of dirt tracks have created generations of fans that follow NASCAR religiously today.
The France family and NASCAR’s history serves only to provide context in this excellent book. Thompson’s true intent is in connecting his own alcohol-fueled Irish roots to the foundation of NASCAR. Readers follow the lives of men like Parks and early racers like Roy Hall, Lloyd Seay, and Red Vogt that have sadly become forgotten men.
As NASCAR continues to grow by marginalizing its old fan base in the South, Neal Thompson makes it clear that history will always connect them despite any efforts otherwise.
- Jim Markel
related tags
Gritz,Urban,
Mountain,
Atlanta,
South Carolina,
North Carolina,
Georgia,
Florida,
Alabama,
Discourse,
Lore,
Sports,
Comments
maryhao says...
Couture Wedding Dresses Plus size Wedding Dresses offer distinct design and superior style. Choose from mother of the bride skirt sets Maternity Wedding Dresses What fabric is this dress made Destination Wedding Dresses Blue Wedding Dresses Vintage Wedding Dresses Unique Wedding Dresses Romantic Wedding Dresses Winter Wedding Dresses What color is shown on the model? Is it silver, taupe, gray? It's hard to tell because of the Taffetta material. And will this dress be available for a couple months? Summer Wedding Dresses ordered 4 dresses to be used as bridesmaid dresses in a wedding. I have just received them and they are more beautiful than I imagined. The dresses were made with great skill and craftma Discount Wedding Dresses Simple Wedding Dresses Casual Wedding Dresses Modest Wedding Dresses Bridesmaid Dresses Sexy Bridesmaid Dresses Simple Bridesmaid Dresses Spaghetti Bridesmaid Dresses Strapless Bridesmaid Dresses Junior Bridesmaid Dresses Prom Bridesmaid Dresses Discount Bridesmaid Dresses Flower Girl Dresses Plan calls for things organized, so, in order to obtain better results. Marriage is such an effective plan occasion is necessary. Popular Flower Girl Dresses Spaghetti Flower Girl Dresses Strapless Flower Girl Dresses Baby Flower Girl Dresses Infant Flower Girl Dresses Toddler Flower Girl Dresses These dresses are for girls 3-14 years of age. Please check the "Junior Dress Size Chart" on the left-hand side according to Mother of The Bride Dresses Quality material,amazing dress Simple Mother of The Bride Dresses Elegant Mother of The Bride Dresses Fashion Mother of The Bride Dresses Winter Mother of The Bride Dresses Summer Mother of The Bride Dresses Discount Mother of The Bride Dresses mother of the bride formal gowns, apparel, outfits in Austin, Texas. Discount modest mother of the groom dress in petite Classic Dresses Party Dresses.
kokowowoman says...
A ugg boots clearance recent survey found that one out of five Americans teenage or older want an iPad. No wonder Apple is selling three million iPads a month. It's the fastest-selling single product in the history of consumer electronics. Most buyers are choosing an iPad as a supplement to their current computers -- for watching movies in bed, like I do, or reading books in my easy chair when there's nothing good on TV ugg boots clearance. The iPad pretty much has the personal side of computing covered. But what about the computer side? What about the tasks you do on your laptop or on your desktop computer ugg boots clearance? But I'm convinced that many of you would find the iPad a delightful replacement for a typical laptop computer, whether a Windows PC or Mac, if you mostly use a laptop for three typical functions -- e-mail, social networking (through Facebook, for example) and Web browsing ugg boots clearance. What about occasional word processing? Apple's word processor, called Pages, is outstanding on the iPad. (A bonus: It also works easily with Microsoft Word documents, both reading them and saving them.) If you need software that can show and create PowerPoint presentations, iPad software called Keynote can do that nicely. There's even an Excel-compatible program called Numbers ugg boots clearance. All three of these productivity programs -- called apps -- sell for only $10 each. Getting something equivalent to Microsoft Office for only $30 is surely a steal ugg boots clearance. There are many, either free or a couple of dollars, at the App Store ugg boots outlet. Could an iPad be your only computer? Not for long. It gets updates via free software called iTunes running on a standard computer. When you plug the iPad into the computer using a USB cable, iTunes transfers the updates to your iPad ugg boots outlet. (iTunes is also used to add music, books, podcasts, university lectures, TV shows and movies to an iPad.) But if my experience is a guide, the iPad can function well as a replacement for a laptop. If you buy one, be sure to get the Keyboard Dock and the Camera Connection Kit. Photos look spectacular on the 10-inch screen ugg boots clearance.
Please login or you can
If you aren't registered, Register Now to start leaving comments.