NASCAR 75 Years

by Al Pearce, Mike Hembree, Kelly Crandall, Jimmy Creed

Overview

Explore the thrilling illustrated story of NASCAR stock car racing in America with this stunning celebration filled with evocative photography, legendary drivers, and a decade-by-decade history.

NASCAR 75 Years captures the greatest moments throughout the decades: from the beaches of Daytona to the jaw-clenching competition, the mind-bending technology, the triumphs, the teamwork, and the high-speed thrills. Large-format photography from throughout NASCAR history brings it all to life alongside narratives written by a roster of veteran NASCAR reporters and historians.

Follow NASCAR’s growth from a small, innovative family business to a leader in sports entertainment, witnessed each week by millions in person and on national television. The authors show the evolution of the vehicles—from modified family sedans to 700-horsepower race-built behemoths, all the way through the “Next Gen” cars that debuted in 2022—and celebrate the drivers who have piloted them around tracks like Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Las Vegas, and more—legendary heroes with names including Flock, Weatherly, Petty, Allison, Yarborough, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Gordon, Stewart, Johnson, Busch, all battling wheel to wheel, week after week, across the United States.

This beautifully designed and extensively illustrated book provides the ultimate history of the legendary series, celebrating the drivers, crew chiefs, pit crews, owners, and tracks, from the earliest days on Florida’s beaches right through to today’s superspeedways, short tracks, and road courses. Compiled by authors with a passion for motorsport, NASCAR 75 Years is a volume no fan can be without.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760380055
Publisher:	Motorbooks
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	35,690
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Al Pearce saw his first NASCAR race in 1966 in Daytona Beach and covered his first race in July 1969 at Dover, Delaware for the Times-Herald of Newport News, Virginia. Since then, he’s covered thousands of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, NHRA, and SCCA races for the Tribune Company (1969-2004) and Autoweek (1973-current). Pearce has authored thirteen books on racing, including Unseen Earnhardt: The Man Behind the Mask and Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team (with Tom Cotter). He lives in Newport News, Virginia.

Mike Hembree has written about motorsports for four decades and is the author of fourteen books, including 100 Things NASCAR Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He has won numerous awards, including the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence. He also is a seven-time National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and a three-time winner of the Russ Catlin Award for motorsports journalism excellence. Hembree has covered auto racing for Autoweek, USA Today, the Greenville News, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the SPEED Channel, and NASCAR Scene. His news media career also includes coverage of the NFL, the NBA, MLB, the Olympics, and professional golf. Mike lives in Gaffney, South Carolina.

Kelly Crandall has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER.com as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared on NASCAR.com, NBC Sports, and in NASCAR Illustrated magazine. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) and currently serves as the organization’s president. She is also a regular co-host on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 

Jimmy Creed was born and raised in Talladega, Alabama, and started going to the track there at an early age. As the sports editor of The Anniston Star in nearby Anniston, Alabama, he twice received Alabama Sports Writer Association Story of the Year honors for stories written about the HANS Device and Davey Allison. He is the author of Donnie Allison: As I Recall, the official biography of the famed Alabama Gang member. A 1989 graduate of the University of Alabama in journalism, he also served as the editor of Saints Digest, the official publication of the New Orleans Saints from 1992 to 1996. He currently resides in Talladega.

Table of Contents

Contents
The 1940s and 1950s              Hot Wheels and Dirt Tracks
The 1960s                               Racing into the Superspeedway Era
The 1970s                               Shifting into High Gear
The 1980s                               Reaching the Threshold of Speed
The 1990s                               Earnhardt and Gordon Drive the Sport Forward
The 2000s                               A New and Dark Millennium
The 2010s                               Quintessential NASCAR
The 2020s and Beyond           Next (Gen)eration
 
About the Writers
Image Credits
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"NASCAR 75 Years is a beautifully designed and extensively illustrated book that provides the ultimate history of the legendary series. It is a must-have volume for any fan of NASCAR, filled with fascinating stories and stunning images that capture the essence of this exciting and dynamic sport."—Winding Road Magazine

We’ve had 75 amazing years of watching the racing association grow into what it is today, and the book NASCAR 75 Years does an excellent job of capturing key moments of the sport throughout the decades. NASCAR 75 Years’ writers and photographers create a picture that is hard to resist, even for those who are unfamiliar with what makes stock car racing in America the best.—Mankind Unplugged

From the Publisher