{ "item_title" : "Driving with the Devil", "item_author" : [" Neal Thompson "], "item_description" : "The true story behind NASCAR's hardscrabble, moonshine-fueled origins, fascinating and fast-moving . . . even if you don't know a master cylinder from a head gasket (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Neal] Thompson exhumes the sport's Prohibition-era roots in this colorful, meticulously detailed history.--Time Today's NASCAR--equal parts Disney, Vegas, and Barnum & Bailey--is a multibillion-dollar conglomeration with 80 million fans, half of them women, that grows bigger and more mainstream by the day. Long before the sport's rampant commercialism lurks a distant history of dark secrets that have been carefully hidden from view--until now. In the Depression-wracked South, with few options beyond the factory or farm, a Ford V-8 became the ticket to a better life. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cash. Driving with the Devil reveals how the skills needed to outrun federal agents with a load of corn liquor transferred perfectly to the red-dirt racetracks of Dixie. In this dynamic era (the 1930s and '40s), three men with a passion for Ford V-8s--convicted felon Raymond Parks, foul-mouthed mechanic Red Vogt, and war veteran Red Byron, NASCAR's first champ--emerged as the first stock car team. Theirs is the violent, poignant story of how moonshine and fast cars merged to create a sport for the South to call its own. In the tradition of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, this tale captures a bygone era of a beloved sport and the character of the country at a moment in time.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers2.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/40/008/226/1400082269_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "18.00", "online_price" : "18.00", "our_price" : "18.00", "club_price" : "18.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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