Speed Channel Makes Major Donation to the Stock Car Racing Collection

The Stock Car Racing Collection has a received a large donation of materials from Speed Channel.  Parent company Fox Sports replaced Speed Channel with Fox Sports 1 as of August 18, 2013 and moved all operations for the channel from Charlotte, NC to Los Angeles. Speed Channel researcher/writer Gregg Leary, a long time supporter of the Stock Car Racing Collection, arranged for the items to be transferred to the Collection and also donated materials from his personal library. In the coming months, Collection users will have access to the approximately 1000 books, 100 race programs, 400 press kits, and 130 vhs/dvds in the donation.

Deb Williams Honored

Motorsports journalist Deb Williams was honored on May 10, 2013 by East Tennessee State University for outstanding career achievement and contributions to the University. Williams, a 1976 graduate of ETSU, received the Award of Honor from its National Alumni Association.  She is is the author of several books on auto racing, edited the NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for ten years, and served as director of public/media relations at Penske Racing South. She was the first woman to receive the Henry T. McLemore Award for dedication to motorsports journalism and is a two-time recipient of the Miller Motorsports Award of Excellence. She has won a number of National Motorsports Press Association awards for news, features, columns, and magazine articles. Williams is a member of the Appalachian State University Library Stock Car Racing Collection's Advisory Committee.

New History of Charlotte Motor Speedway Published

Deb Williams, renowned award-winning motorsports journalist and a member of the Stock Car Racing Collection Advisory Committee, is the author of Charlotte Motor Speedway History: From Granite to Gold, to be published May 10, 2013 by the History Press. This fascinating history reveals the real story of the track's genesis in 1960 and its evolution to iconic racetrack. Copies can be pre-ordered from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other book outlets.