Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black

Long before NASCAR became a sports phenomenon, long before Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon became household names, and long before spring breakers made Daytona Beach infamous, that strip of beach gave birth to NASCAR and the sport's most storied race -- the Daytona 500. Now, famed racing journalist Ed Hinton unfolds a lively history of the Daytona 500 as a launching pad to tell the wildly colorful stow of NASCAR -- from its infancy, when billionaires and bootleggers raced their "tricked-up" cars on a dirt track, to today's world of mainstream appeal and sky-high television ratings. Written in an engaging style, filled with an insider's wisdom and flavorful anecdotes, Hinton brings the world of stock car racing to life. More than just a narrative history, "Daytona" is a defining and transcendent look at a sport and a culture that has captured the imagination of millions of Americans.