Faces of UNC Asheville

Dan Pierce

History Professor Dan Pierce is the author of the acclaimed new book Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France. Perhaps the most compelling part of the book is the confirmation that racing had early ties to moonshining. “When I first started doing research on NASCAR, I thought I would prove that the whole moonshine connection was overblown and exaggerated,” said Pierce. “However, the deeper I looked, the more liquor I found.”

A noted NASCAR historian, Pierce has written widely on the topic, including encyclopedia articles and an entry on The Most Southern Sport on Earth for the Journal of Southern Culture. He also detailed the sport's bootlegging past for a History Channel special on Appalachia.