ASHEVILLE, N.C. — It was a given Lee Tissot would strap in behind the wheel of a race car, after all he had grown up watching his father, Randy Tissot, compete with NASCAR’s biggest names such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker and others during the 1970s and 1980s.

After finishing third in Street Stock points in 1988 at New Asheville Speedway, young Lee was hooked on racing and he’s been on the fast-track to success ever since. He captured the Late Model rookie of the year title in 1991 on “The River,” and consistently finished top-five in points each year before putting together back-to-back championship campaigns in 1998 and ’99 at the track.