White Liquor & Dirt Tracks Exhibit Returns to Mt. Airy

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. - The annual White Liquor & Dirt Tracks exhibit is returning for its third season at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.

The exhibit launches with a special day of activities Jan. 28 and runs through mid May. This year's theme is "Biographies," highlighting the life and times of pioneers in stock car racing, a sport with strong ties to northwestern North Carolina.

 

NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman will headline a roundtable question-and-answer session with the public on Jan. 28. The roundtable will also include 1960 Grand National champion Rex White, among others.

 

Following the roundtable, many of drivers and panelists will participate in an open autograph session which runs concurrent with three afternoon programs.

 

The afternoon programs include: Dr. Daniel Pierce from UNC Asheville speaking on the moonshine history of Western North Carolina; professor Brian Katen of Virginia Tech discussing the development of auto racing and race tracks in Southwest Virginia; and NASCAR historian Buz McKim sharing funny anecdotes from racing's early days.

 

Day-long activities include a wintertime cruise-in for classic cars, vintage race cars and moonshine runners, book signing with Margaret Sue Turner Wright (Curtis Turner's daughter), and demonstrations by Virginia-based artist and pin-striper Tom VanNortwick.

 

"The White Liquor and Dirt Tracks program began as a volunteer initiative in 2010 and has become a must-see event for race fans," said Matt Edwards, the museum's executive director.

 

Stock car racing fans who cannot attend the Jan. 28 event should make it a point to visit the exhibit before it ends in May. This year's exhibit features biographies of drivers, owners, crew members and mechanics. It illustrates the wide variety of people involved in the sport.

 

"There are so many great stories out there," Edwards said, "it was hard to choose who to focus on."

 

Museum admission price is $5 per person. For info on the White Liquor and Dirt Tracks program or ongoing exhibit, visit www.whiteliquoranddirttracks.com or call (336) 
786-4478.

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