David M. McGee

I don't remember a time when auto racing wasn't important to me. Since 1983, I've had the privilege of being part of the regular spectacle that NASCAR racing and professional drag racing bring to my adopted hometown of Bristol, Tennessee. My real job is reporting on the news of the day, but my passion - my calling - centers on speed. My first three books recount the motorsports history of Bristol, Arcadia titles Bristol Motor Speedway and Bristol Dragway and Tales of Bristol Motor Speedway from The History Press. In 2014, I released A History of East Tennessee Auto Racing. And what the title lacks in imagination is balanced by 50,000 compelling words and 100 photos charting motorsports history from Bristol to Chattanooga. In 2015 I released Kingsport Speedway, an Arcadia title which charts the 50-year history of a short track that evolved from dirt-poor humble to hosting NASCAR's biggest names, to a stint as a premier dirt oval to its latest incarnation hosting the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. It was a fun project that people really enjoy. In 2018 I released Bristol: Stories of Oval and Drag Racing From Thunder Valley. It is my first book with CarTech Publishing and is now available through Amazon or directly through CarTech as a print on demand product. My seventh book, Flyin' Floyd: The Unvarnished Biography of an American Dirt Racing Legend, came out in May 2019. It was supposed to be a brief history of one of the finest drivers I ever saw - and a childhood hero - but through copious amounts of research and a lot of help from a lot of people turned out to be a fun, exciting read. I have all of my books on sale on my online store. I was born in Stanton, Ky. and graduated from Morehead State University with a degree in journalism. I work as a newspaper reporter at the Bristol Herald Courier where I was blessed to lead the team that won the 2018 Scripps-Howard Award for Community Journalism. I have been announcing races at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1998 and Bristol Dragway since 1992. I attended my first race at Mountain Park Dragway in Kentucky when I was 8. I first covered auto racing for the Clay City Times in 1975, while still in high school. I moved to Bristol Tennessee to work for IHRA in 1983 and that included working at the speedway. I have only missed one major event at Thunder Valley since 1980.