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
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Stock car racing’s early years weren’t financially lucrative when compared to today, but for NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac, the sport provided a means to escape poverty and become a champion.
“He loved to win, but he hated to lose, and he used this passion to drive […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 6-foot-2, ruggedly handsome Virginian, Curtis Turner combined his brazen driving tactics with a swashbuckling lifestyle to carve himself a unique place in NASCAR history.
On Saturday, Turner was rewarded for his efforts with induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with Speedway Motorsports Inc. founder […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Leavine Family Racing and Circle Sport Racing, owned by Joe Falk, have entered into a partnership that will allow LFR to run full time in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series with drivers Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon.
The team also has entered into an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and will switch to Chevrolets […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – When Monster Energy MXGP of the Americas rolls into zMAX Dragway Labor Day weekend it will mark the culmination of nearly two years of work by Speedway Motorsports Inc. executives to bring professional motocross to the Charlotte area.
SMI CEO Marcus Smith said Tuesday night that people began […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seven-time NASCAR champion and veteran team owner Richard Petty said Wednesday that he believed NASCAR and the sport’s team owners had reached an agreement on about 75 percent of the sanctioning body’s charter program which would provide teams with long-term equity.
However, there is still a question as to whether it will […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Denny Hamlin said Tuesday he’s not fully recovered from the right knee surgery he had in the off-season to repair his torn ACL, but he expects to be ready for next month’s season opening Daytona 500.
“At this point, this one is a lot more difficult than the […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Jeff Gordon is no stranger to Martinsville Speedway’s victory lane, but perhaps his ninth trip in Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 will be among his sweetest.
With his first victory this season and the 93rd of his illustrious career, Gordon has guaranteed himself a position in the […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Joey Logano has yet to win a race at the tough Martinsville Speedway, but with the momentum the Team Penske driver possesses, Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 could be the one he checks off his list.
A victory Sunday would make Logano the first driver to win […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – With the addition of SAFER barriers on Martinsville Speedway’s straightaway walls, drivers said Friday the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ shortest track had become an even tougher place to negotiate.
“It seems driving down the straightaway, trying to pass cars, even in practice, it just seems really tight,” Carl […]
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Perhaps no races generate more emotion from fans than those at Talladega Superspeedway. And with the way last Sunday’s race ended, the “hate mail” to a few drivers has been abundant.
Jeff Gordon said he had even received some and he wasn’t even involved in anything.
“That’s what happens when you ‘wrong’ (Dale Earnhardt) […]