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

CONCORD, N.C. – Former NHRA Pro Stock driver Mark Pawuk is ending an 11-year hiatus to compete in the SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown for Don Schumacher Racing, it was announced Saturday at zMAX Dragway.
Pawuk’s first outing in the Factory Stock Showdown will be in June at the Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Sisters Brittany and Courtney Force proved to be formidable in qualifying at the same event for the third time in their career Saturday, walking off with the No. 1 positions in their respective classes in the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
The previous […]

LAVONIA, Ga. – Former NASCAR driver and ARCA team owner James Hylton and his son were killed early Saturday when the vehicle hauling their race car back from Talladega Superspeedway crashed on I-85 in Franklin County, Ga.
The Georgia State Patrol and the Franklin County Coroner’s office told WSPA in Spartanburg, S.C., that James Harvey Hylton, […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Sisters Brittany and Courtney Force owned the No. 1 starting positions in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, after two rounds of qualifying Friday in the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
Brittany, who was fifth fastest after the first round, soared to the No. […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Having grown up in drag racing, sisters Brittany and Courtney Force are well aware of the sport’s dangers, but this season’s beginning has been gut wrenching for their family’s NHRA organization – John Force Racing.
In the 2018 season’s first five events, 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – A Kyle Busch victory at Bristol Motor Speedway is nothing new. After all, he’s won at the tough half-mile track in all three of NASCAR’s top three series and swept the Truck-Xfinity-Cup weekend twice.
Overall, the 32-year-old Busch possesses seven Bristol victories in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Persistent rain Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway forced NASCAR to postpone the conclusion of the Food City 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race until Monday.
The race is scheduled to resume at 1 p.m. EDT on lap 205 in Stage 2 with Kyle Larson leading. Rounding out the […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. – A Modified champion and short-track star, Ryan Preece knew he possessed the talent needed to succeed in NASCAR’s top touring series. He simply needed a chance to prove it.
That chance came last year, but only because Preece possessed a strong belief in himself and the passion to […]

BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR drivers admit something needs to be done to improve the racing on 1.5-mile tracks, but several of them said Friday they didn’t know if the rules package announced for next month’s All-Star race would be the solution.
Implemented for the first time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, it’s the same […]

By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – When Tony Stewart tapped Clint Bowyer to succeed him in the No. 14 at Stewart-Haas Racing it really didn’t surprise anyone. After all, they are cut from the same cloth – old school racers.
Bowyer viewed it as team owners Stewart and Gene Haas giving him a […]