As the most popular spectator sport in the United States, NASCAR serves an important role in the understanding of American culture. The purpose of this site is to investigate how NASCAR has transformed from a local, Southern pursuit to an increasingly national, televised, corporate powered sport from the 1960s through the 1990s.  Fans, drivers, and the media that connects them will all be explored as discourses to achieve an understanding of this community.  In order to trace the sport through its history, this site focuses on the careers of two iconic drivers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. In the 1960s and 1970s, Richard Petty symbolized the sport of stock car racing for its fans and the media, and in the 1980s and 1990s, Dale Earnhardt held that same position. These drivers’ presence and influence in NASCAR paralleled each other, yet at the same time their worlds were remarkably different. By examining the lives, careers, and media representations of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, this site will explore the shift in the NASCAR community and, more broadly, American culture.