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
A NASCAR driver at the height of his career, driving for one of the premier series’ top teams, walked out his house’s back door and headed for a meeting. Sitting on the steps was one of his daughters.
When he asked why she wasn’t riding her bicycle she replied that […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – For weeks Jimmie Johnson has attempted to ignore any conversation about a seventh NASCAR championship, but the winner of Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway can no longer sidestep the issue.
With Johnson’s 79th career victory Sunday, he now has a guaranteed position in the Chase’s […]
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Nearly two dozen people were injured Sunday at Martinsville Speedway after the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 when a person maneuvered his vehicle out of the traffic line and plowed into a group of pedestrians.
The injured, who Virginia State Police said ranged in age from 13 to 65, were behind turns one and […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Denny Hamlin led twice for 48 laps in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 en route to a third-place finish, but the day didn’t begin as well as it ended for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Hamlin was using his golf cart for travel to-and-from an appearance before the […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Sunday his intentions were to race next year and his Hendrick Motorsports team was handling bookings for 2017 as usual.
“We are doing all our photo shoots and everything with anticipation of our sponsors marketing me as the driver of the No. 88 car,” […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Martin Truex Jr. readily admits the week after his elimination from NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Chase at Talladega has been a tough one.
After all, Truex’s strong Toyota was one of the favorites in the title run. He lost the season opening Daytona 500 by inches, produced a dominating […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Denny Hamlin said Friday his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates who remained at the back of the field during last weekend’s Talladega race shouldn’t be criticized; that they were simply being smart.
“They would be the dumbest group in history if they had run in the middle […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Prior to Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, several drivers pointed to the Round of 12 as the toughest in the Chase because of Talladega Superspeedway and the “big one” that’s always expected.
However, Sunday the 1.5-mile Charlotte track showed it could be just as […]
CONCORD, N.C. – After Sunday’s Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darrell Wallace Jr. admitted he could shed a tear for joy, but a devastated Ty Dillon probably could have shed many for disappointment.
That’s because Wallace, who finished 20th, advanced to the second round in the Xfinity Series Chase while Dillon didn’t […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Prior to mid-July, Alex Bowman wasn’t a familiar name to most race fans.
The 23-year-old Arizona native had enjoyed success in ARCA, winning six races in 21 starts over a two-year period, but when it came to NASCAR he possessed no victories. He had produced top-five and top-10 […]