Hurricane Helene: Appalachian History

East Tennessee isn't typically mentioned among stock car racing's formative hotbeds. But the region from Bristol to Oneida and Chattanooga encapsulates a significant portion of the sport's history. From pioneers like Brownie King and Paul Lewis of Johnson City to former national champions Joe Lee Johnson of Chattanooga and L.D. Ottinger of Newport, East Tennessee has produced many of NASCAR's great drivers. The region is home to one of the world's largest sports stadiums in the Bristol Motor Speedway, but NASCAR also made regular visits to other area tracks. Whether the surface is red clay, asphalt or brushed concrete, East Tennessee still boasts some of the world's fastest, most competitive racing. Join author and racing insider David McGee as he presents a vast array of colorful characters whose passion fueled a sport that has gone from primitive to prime time.

Bristol Dragway was carved into an East Tennessee
mountainside in 1965. In the more than four decades
since, the track known as "Thunder Valley" has carved its niche as a world-class facility in professional drag racing. Located adjacent to Bristol Motor Speedway, the dragway's well-earned nickname stems from the unique acoustic experience fans get when the power of unlimited racing engines echoes off the nearby hillsides. Bristol Dragway retraces the track's early history, its role in shaping the sport, and its return to prominence after an $18 million renovation in the late 1990s. The book features images of drag racing's greatest stars and chronicles decades of the sport's most memorable moments.