Topics Related to Moonshine and Motorsports

On May 18, 1947, the North Wilkesboro Speedway opened its doors to a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators who watched Fonty Flock win the first official race held there.

On April 29, 1951, Dale Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis.

On March 1, 1876, moonshiner Lewis Redmond murdered U.S. Deputy Marshall Alfred Duckworth near East Fork in Transylvania County.


Born in 1854, Redmond grew up during a time when the production of distilled alcohol was an additional source of income for many Southern farmers. In the post-Civil War South, many illegal distillers, or moonshiners, attempted to circumvent the payment of taxes on their products, leading to conflict with the Federal Bureau of Revenue.