Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR

"[Neal] Thompson exhumes the sport's Prohibition-era roots in this colorful, meticulously detailed history."--Time

Today's NASCAR--equal parts Disney, Vegas, and Barnum & Bailey--is a multibillion-dollar conglomeration with 80 million fans, half of them women, that grows bigger and more mainstream by the day. Long before the sport's rampant commercialism lurks a distant history of dark secrets that have been carefully hidden from view--until now.

In the Depression-wracked South, with few options beyond the factory or farm, a Ford V-8 became the ticket to a better life. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash. Driving with the Devil reveals how the skills needed to outrun federal agents with a load of corn liquor transferred perfectly to the red-dirt racetracks of Dixie. In this dynamic era (the 1930s and '40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s--convicted felon Raymond Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR's first champ--emerged as the first stock car "team." Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a sport for the South to call its own.

In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, this tale captures a bygone era of a beloved sport and the character of the country at a moment in time.