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. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway he would be having more fun and he thought the fans would, too, if he was in the thick of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship battle.
“I think it’s a little bittersweet for me and the fans and our supporters with the […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s experience with concussions in the waning years of his career has led Charlotte Motor Speedway and Speedway Children’s Charities to create a concussion research fund in his name, it was announced Friday.
A $100,000 gift, the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Concussion Research Fund at Carolinas Healthcare […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
In the 1960s, a Mars Hill College professor saw Robert Yates working on a farmer’s tractor one Sunday afternoon instead of in his dorm room studying. The professor told Yates he would never amount to anything because of his actions.
Time-and-time again Yates proved that professor wrong, establishing a NASCAR […]
CONCORD, N.C. – Numerous upsets Sunday in the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway created a dramatic change in the Mello Yello Drag Racing point standings after just the first of six rounds in the Countdown to the Championship.
Heading into the Countdown, the standings leaders were: Steve Torrence, Top Fuel; Ron Capps, Funny Car; […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Wind tunnels have been used for decades to perfect the aerodynamics of race cars, but NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor Andrew Hines noted that in his class his body provides the aero package.
“We’re going down the track and we’re trying to do everything we can to stay […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – Three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Antron Brown is known for his lightning fast performances at the dragstrip, but this year the track has actually been the place where he could slow his lifestyle and relax.
“It’s been crazy. I never appreciated my bed so much when I go […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
CONCORD, N.C. – NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps begins defense of his crown the same weekend that Chase Elliott opens his NASCAR title hopes in his playoffs, but the bond between the two goes beyond sharing the same sponsor – NAPA Auto Parts.
Capps looked up to Chase’s father, Bill, […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
RICHMOND, Va. – For nearly seven decades, steel-body race cars and NASCAR have been synonymous, but at Richmond International Raceway on Friday the sanctioning body ushered in a new era that will eventually make sheet metal obsolete in at least one of its three national touring series.
In Friday’s Virginia529 College […]
By Deb Williams | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Two laps. That was all that remained when the Lady in Black snatched victory from Martin Truex Jr.’s grasp and handed it to Denny Hamlin on Sunday, giving him his second Bojangles Southern 500 win at Darlington Raceway.
It was a gut wrenching experience for Truex, who won […]
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Retro weekend at Darlington Raceway has become one of NASCAR’s most popular, but that doesn’t mean the racing will resemble the era celebrated by the 30 old-school paint schemes in Sunday’s Bojangles Southern 500.
“I believe it’s new-school racing with old-school paint schemes,” NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin said Friday. “The importance […]
