The Big Ticket

NASCAR became one of the fastest growing sports in the 1980s.  Once a Southern specialty, tracks hosting Sprint Cup races are spread across the country.

Although the organization's offices are based in Daytona, Florida, Charlotte is the epicenter of racing.  Most teams are based near Charlotte, and in 2006 the city was chosen as the site for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Opened in 1960, Charlotte Motor Speedway in nearby Concord hosts two major Sprint Cup Series races, the Coca Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500, along with hosting the series All-Star Race.

The J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections holds the T. Taylor Warren papers.  Warren was an official photographer for NASCAR.  The transcript of a 2005 interview with Warren is part of the New South Voices oral history project of the Atkins Library, and may be read here.