Al Pearce saw his first NASCAR race in 1966 in Daytona Beach and covered his first race in July 1969 at Dover, Delaware for the Times-Herald of Newport News, Virginia. Since then, he's covered thousands of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One, NHRA, and SCCA races for the Tribune Company (1969-2004) and Autoweek (1973-current). Pearce has authored thirteen books on racing, including Unseen Earnhardt: The Man Behind the Mask and Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team (with Tom Cotter). He lives in Newport News, Virginia.
Mike Hembree has written about motorsports for four decades and is the author of fourteen books, including 100 Things NASCAR Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. 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, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the SPEED Channel, and NASCAR Scene. His news media career also includes coverage of the NFL, the NBA, MLB, the Olympics, and professional golf. Mike lives in Gaffney, South Carolina.
Kelly Crandall has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER.com as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared on NASCAR.com, NBC Sports, and in NASCAR Illustrated magazine. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) and currently serves as the organization's president. She is also a regular co-host on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Jimmy Creed was born and raised in Talladega, Alabama, and started going to the track there at an early age. As the sports editor of The Anniston Star in nearby Anniston, Alabama, he twice received Alabama Sports Writer Association Story of the Year honors for stories written about the HANS Device and Davey Allison. He is the author of Donnie Allison: As I Recall, the official biography of the famed Alabama Gang member. A 1989 graduate of the University of Alabama in journalism, he also served as the editor of Saints Digest, the official publication of the New Orleans Saints from 1992 to 1996. He currently resides in Talladega.
