Deb Williams, Senior Writer
An award winning motorsports journalist, Deb Williams has covered auto racing for more than 30 years. She began her career covering weekly short-track races in Asheville, N.C., while a student at East Tennessee State University and continued after becoming the sports editor at the newspaper in Waynesville, N.C. Upon joining United Press International in Raleigh, N.C., as a general assignment reporter, she began covering NASCAR's top two series and continued to do so after being named UPI's Charlotte, N.C., bureau manager. After leaving UPI, she spent 18 years with the publication NASCAR Winston Cup Scene, serving as its editor for 10 years. Her numerous honors include the Henry T. McLemore Award, the Russ Catlin Award and the George Cunningham National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year award. She has received NMPA awards for columns, news, features and magazine stories. She has written three books. Her most recent, “The Evolution of NASCAR, A Historical Collection, was released in November 2010. Williams has taught the Evolution of Southern Motorsports at Appalachian State University, and has been interviewed for historical motorsports shows that have aired on ESPN and SPEED. She resides in Concord, N.C.
Articles by Deb Williams
Erik Jones got a really big victory Sunday/Monday at the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Alan Marler)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Speculation has persisted throughout the year that Erik Jones’ ride at Joe Gibbs Racing might be in jeopardy for the 2020 season, but early Monday he silenced his […]
Jimmie Johnson’s hopes to earn a berth in this year’s Cup Playoffs are in big trouble. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Alan Marler)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Two races, two positions, four drivers. That is the situation facing Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson as they battle for […]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is climbing back into a race car this weekend at Darlington. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Harold Hinson)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes the more than two decades he spent driving race cars has played a key role in the way he has processed the plane crash he […]
Drivers Denny Hamlin, left, and Matt DiBenedetto met up in the infield after they had fought for the victory on track in Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (RacinToday/HHP photo Alan Marler)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin was fighting for his fourth victory of the season Saturday […]
The burned-out remains of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s airplane at the airport near Bristol Motor Speedway. (RacinToday.com photo by Deb Williams)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Private air travel became popular in NASCAR’s top series 30 years ago. Today it’s considered a necessity, but each time there is a plane crash in the motorsports […]
Veteran David Ragan will bid farewell to the cockpit on a full-time basis after the 2019 season. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Alan Marler)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR driver David Ragan said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway that at the end of the season he will step away from full-time competition in the […]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. walked away from a serious airplane crash in Tennessee. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Andrew Coppley)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
ELIZABETHTON, TENN. – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s jet bounced at least twice on the Elizabethton Municipal Airport runway before the landing gear collapsed, NTSB senior investigator Ralph Hicks said Friday.
“We were able to obtain surveillance […]
The burned-out remains of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s airplane at the airport near Bristol Motor Speedway. (RacinToday.com photo by Deb Williams)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
ELIZABETHTON, TENN. – Sissy Moody was working across the street from the Elizabethton Municipal Airport Thursday when she heard a loud “thud”, ran to the window and saw Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s […]
Justin Haley, right, is congratulated after winning Sunday’s rain-shortened Cup Series race at Daytona. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Harold Hinson)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Justin Haley’s description of himself is pretty simple – “just a dirt track racer from Indiana.” However, he can now add the phrase: Who has won at Daytona […]
NASCAR’s new rules package is having a big effect on the art of blocking in the Cup Series. (RacinToday/HHP photo by Harold Hinson)
By Deb Williams | Senior WriterRacinToday.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Blocking is illegal in many racing series, but not in NASCAR. And Friday at Daytona International Speedway several drivers said it’s a maneuver that […]
