Stock Car Racing Collection: The Appalachian State University Library has initiated a program to create a collection of materials relating to the history of stock car racing, and has named an advisory committee to guide its growth. The Stock Car Racing Collection is building an extensive racing collection of books and other documents available both to research scholars and fans of the sport. Suzanne Wise, a librarian at Appalachian, is spearheading the effort to build the collection. The Collection currently includes more than 350 books and videos, racing periodicals, a clippings file covering 1,100 subjects and a growing collection of race programs and photos. Motorsports photographer Don Hunter, who covered motorsports for the Charlotte Observer for many years, has donated several historic photos of racing action at the Asheville Speedway in the 1950s.. Additional gifts of materials from personal collections are welcomed, and are recognized appropriately. Seven people with strong ties to the stock car racing industry have been named to the Stock Car Racing Collection advisory committee.. They are: -Len Batycki, former vice president of development for Richard Childress Racing and currently a principal with Strategic Advisors, a motorsports industry consulting firm; -Chris Economaki, publisher emeritus of National Speed Sport News; -Mike Epley, executive director of the University’s Appalachian Consortium and instructor of a motorsports history course; -Rick Gambill, president of Carrick Public Relations, which represents motorsports clients; -Ted Hagaman, former director of Lowe’s Motorsports for Lowe’s Home Improvements Inc. and current director of hospitality services at Wilkes Community College; -Ben Trout, senior communications manager with Bristol Motor Speedway; and -Deb Williams, editor of the NASCAR Winston Cup Scene. The group’s first meeting will be held in December at the University in Boone. For more information contact Suzanne Wise at 828-262-2798, or visit the Collection’s Web page at www.library.appstate.edu.(PR)(10-25-2002)
