In 1949, when Humpy Wheeler was 11, he attended the very first NASCAR race. For the next ten years, he spent as much time in the pits as he could, and came to know many of the sport’s pioneers. Eventually, Wheeler began promoting races at Carolina tracks such as Concord Speedway, Robinwood Speedway, and Starlight Speedway. Racing was so rough back then he kept a gun by his side when he paid the purse, and often used his fists to keep order. By the time Wheeler retired in 2008, he had helped NASCAR become the six-billion-dollar-a-year industry it is today. Filled with photographs from Wheeler's personal archives, Growing up NASCAR presents the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at NASCAR from the consumate insider.
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We Watched the Race Cars Go By |
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1 | (14) |
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The Scotch-Irish and the Segregated South |
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15 | (17) |
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32 | (13) |
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45 | (7) |
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52 | (17) |
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69 | (10) |
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79 | (16) |
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When the Rubber Meets the Road |
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95 | (14) |
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109 | (7) |
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116 | (7) |
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123 | (7) |
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130 | (8) |
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138 | (17) |
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Curtis and Bruton Go Bust |
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155 | (7) |
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Hired to Run the Charlotte Motor Speedway |
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162 | (11) |
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173 | (13) |
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186 | (7) |
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Dale and Richard Childress |
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193 | (8) |
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Rick Hendrick Changes the Game |
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201 | (12) |
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213 | (10) |
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Alan Kulwicki's Too Short Journey |
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223 | (6) |
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229 | (15) |
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Robert Yates Knows Tragedy |
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244 | (5) |
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Bobby Allison's Nightmare |
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249 | (4) |
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NASCAR and Bruton Go National |
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253 | (15) |
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Joe Gibbs and Dale Jarrett |
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268 | (4) |
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Jack Roush and Mark Martin |
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272 | (4) |
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The Death of Dale Earnhardt |
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276 | (6) |
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The Corporatization of Racing |
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282 | (6) |
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288 | (6) |
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294 | (5) |
| Index |
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299 | |
In 1947, when Humpy Wheeler was nine years old, he put his thumb out on Highway 29 and hitched a ride to the Charlotte Speedway. Since then, Humpy has held just about every job there is in NASCAR. The consummate promoter, Humpy invented the pre-race show. Peter Golenbock has been writing books about sports since 1975. Some of his best sellers are Dynasty, The Bronx Zoo (with Sparky Lyle), Number 1 (with Billy Martin), and Balls (with Greg Nettles.) He has also written a series of NASCAR histories including American Zoom, The Last Lap, and NASCAR Confidential.
