Inside Track: A Photo Documentary of NASCAR Stock Car Racing

by Benny Parsons, George Bennett

High speed performance car racing is America's fastest growing spectator sport. With its roots in the moonshine running days of the southeastern United States, stock car racing has become a national passion. Since 1990, attendance at NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) events has tripled. Radio and television coverage has also increased dramatically, with CBS Sports using NASCAR as one of its four foundations (with college basketball, college football, and golf). Major corporations are lining up to sponsor NASCAR racing teams. The Inside Track to NASCAR is a photographic documentary of the highlights of a year on the NASCAR circuit. Photographer George Bennett followed the top drivers and their crews as they raced their way through the Winston Cup Series. From rural tracks like Bristol Raceway in Tennessee to legendary super speedways like Daytona, Bennett photographed not only the stars of the circuit--Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Ernie Irvan, and Dale Jarret--but also the behind-the-scenes participants--the crews, the officials, the fans, the infield groupies. With expert commentary by international Motor Sports Hall of Fame driver Benny Parsons, The Inside Track to NASCAR captures the whole exciting panorama of big-time stock car racing.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 1996

Reviews

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parsons brings his tremendous broadcasting personality to print and invites you in right away. Bennett’s photos capture most of what made NASCAR downright awesome in the mid-‘90s. However, numerous grammatical errors make the book a little cringey to read, and many of Bennett’s photographs would have been better served by printing in color. Additionally, while the book has robust sections on short tracks, intermediates and superspeedways, it neglects to mention that road courses exist.

[Alex]

Feels blasphemous to portray the most eye-popping, colorful era of NASCAR in black and white but the vibe is immaculate and someone's got to do it. The photographer appears to be a little sore about that detail in his acknowledgements. These are some sweet shots nonetheless