Inside Track: A Photo Documentary of NASCAR Stock Car Racing

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.

George Bennett's photographs have appeared in Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Time, and many other publications. His books include Mannequins, Fighters (with text by Pete Hamill), and Inside Track: A Photo Documentary of NASCAR Stock Car Racing (with text by Benny Parsons). He lives in New York City.

Benny Parsons, a native North Carolinian, started racing in the Detroit area in 1963. Winner of the Winston Cup Championship and the Daytona 500, Parsons recorded a total of 21 NASCAR victories before retiring from racing in 1988. Currently he is a race analyst for ESPN/ABC, host of a NASCAR video magazine, host of a Monday night racing update on NBC-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and host of FastTalk with Benny Parsons, a weekly radio show on Performance Racing Network.