brian cassidy bookselle

to particularly attractive or scantily clad woman, infield scenes of
shirtless race-goers and their camps, prominently displayed Confederate
or American flags, and the like. Thus he documents the culture
of stock car racing as well as its action.
In his 1997 work, FROM MOONSHINE TO MADISON AVENUE: A Cultural History
of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (the only attempt to date to place
the sport’s rise in a cultural framework), Mark D. Howell writes:
It is a sport rooted in cultural mythology — the stereotypes
of rural America and the agrarian Southeast, the outlaw nature
of folks forced to break the law in order to put food on their
tables, and the eventual transition that turned regional folk
heroes into national sports heroes. […] Stock car racing is
more than a sport; it represents an important element of our
nation’s culture. (5)
And while the history of the sport has been well covered, it has largely
been done by NASCAR itself. Referred to by Howell as a “benevolent
dictatorship” (13), he devotes an entire chapter to the tight control
the governing body has maintained over its public image. Television,
magazines, and newspapers tend to rely on the same sources of monetary
support as the sport they cover, which has undoubtedly often
affected coverage. And popular takes, such as films like STROKER ACE
(1983) (based upon the previously mentioned book), DAYS OF THUNDER
(1990); and TALLADEGA NIGHTS (2006) have grossly exaggerated or lampooned
stock car racing. Further, the myriad books on the subject
(Howell’s aside) have tended to focus on its salacious, mythical
roots: the legends of bootleggers with trunks full of moonshine modifying
their “stock” cars to outrun prohibition agents. This archive
therefore represents an unfiltered, fan-level history of an important
and popular Southern cultural scene.
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