Fats and the flag man

A brief history

In the beginning, bootleggers and their sons ran booze through the mountains, hills and hollows of Appalachia, from West Virginia to Alabama. Trying to outrun Prohibition and feed their families, the daring drivers tried to satisfy thirsty customers.

Then, after World War II, a booming American middle class – freed from the shackles of gas and tire rationing – pulled their old jalopies from barns and sheds and off blocks and souped them up.

The vets who returned home from war were hungry for excitement. Automakers transitioned from a war footing to a consumer culture. America became a car culture that spilled over into movies like Rebel Without A Cause and songs that went like this:

“Son, you’re gonna drive me to drinkin’ if you don’t stop driving that hot rod Lincoln.”

To satisfy the public’s need for speed, dirt and asphalt tracks sprung up – Iron Bowl between Roebuck and Tarrant City, east of Birmingham, Birmingham International Raceway at the State Fairgrounds, Sayre Speedway and Dixie Speedway in Midfield.