50 First Victories: NASCAR Drivers' Breakthrough Wins

Did you know that Richard Petty’s first win was overturned due to a protest . . . by his dad? That Ned Jarrett won his first race in a car he bought with a bad check, banking on the winnings to pay it off? That Mario Andretti defied team orders to bag his first NASCAR win? That Tiny Lund nabbed his first NASCAR victory because he rescued a fellow driver from a fiery wreck?

All this and more comes to light in 50 First Victories, which chronicles the journey of NASCAR’s best as they drive their way to that landmark first victory. You’ll read about Richard Petty at Charlotte, Dale Earnhardt Sr. at Bristol, Jimmie Johnson at Fontana, Chase Elliott at Watkins Glen, and more.

Journalists Al Pearce and Mike Hembree have been along for the ride for much of NASCAR’s long history. With a combined ninety years of coverage of one of America’s grassroots sports, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the stories of these fast-and-furious heroes, drivers who ran to the ragged edge—and often past it—in pursuit of the checkered flag.

Here are all the sport’s stars—Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, David Pearson, Jimmie Johnson, Junior Johnson—and the inside stories of their success. Strap in for a rollicking ride to victory lane!

Mike Hembree has written about auto racing for four decades and is the author of fourteen books, including seven racing titles. He has won numerous awards, including the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence. He also is a seven-time National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and a three-time winner of the Russ Catlin Award for motorsports journalism excellence. Hembree has covered auto racing for Autoweek, USA Today, the Greenville News (S.C.), the Spartanburg Herald-Journal (S.C.), the SPEED Channel and NASCAR Scene. His newspaper career also includes coverage of the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the Olympics, and golf. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a BA in Journalism and is a resident of Gaffney, South Carolina.

Al Pearce saw his first NASCAR race in 1966 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The first race he covered was in July of 1969 at Dover, Delaware, for The Times-Herald of Newport News, Virginia. Since then, he's covered thousands of races of all types--NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, NHRA and IHRA drag racing, APBA powerboats, SCCA, international sports cars and weekly short-track races for Tribune Co. (1969-2004) and Autoweek magazine (1973-current).

Pearce has authored thirteen books on racing and has covered events throughout the United States and five foreign countries. He is an eight-time Virginia sportswriting award winner and the recipient of a half-dozen national and regional sports halls of fame awards. He currently lives in Newport News, Virginia, with his wife, Francie. They also have an adult daughter, Annie, whose interest in horsepower is limited to the four-legged version with a Hunter/Jumper saddle.