Stock Car and Drag Racing History

RacersReunion.com was created in 2008 to help preserve and celebrate Stock Car and Drag Racing History. Founder and creator, Jeff Gilder was inspired by the efforts of many, but especially those of his former mentor and crew chief, Paul Lewis.

Lewis was intent to make sure all drivers who competed in NASCAR’s formative years were remembered for their contributions to the sport. “A lot of drivers helped to make racing successful, but never made the headlines,” said Lewis who raced in NASCAR’s Grand National (CUP) and Late Model Sportsman Series (later, Busch, then Nationwide, and Xfinity) in the 60s and 70s. Lewis organized an annual event in the Johnson City, TN area (his hometown) that he called Racers Reunion. He brought together drivers, fans, and crews in his event that normally included race car displays, a car show, plenty of food, and fun for everyone. Drivers would gather together and reminisce their racing tales during the event.

Attending Lewis’ events Gilder realized the importance of preserving the history he heard about from the veteran drivers in attendance, and created RacersReunion.com “Where Legends and Fans Unite” in support of Paul Lewis who helped him win a short track championship. “It was a way to bring Paul’s concept to the masses via the internet,” says Gilder. ” I wanted to do give something back to the sport and to do something to repay Paul for helping me realize a dream I never thought possible.  The year following the night he wondered into my pit and offered his help, we won 50% of our races, sat on 15 poles, set a track record, and won a championship. After following Paul to other events, I realized there were many veteran drivers who thought they had been forgotten. I also learned there were fans (at the same time) wondering what happened to them, and yearning to show their appreciation for contributing to the sport they love.”

The website was originally planned to be for stock car racing history. Immediately after launch, drag racing fans began asking why they were not included. A drag racing site was added within a few weeks, and has developed along side the stock car site. Many visitors enjoy both sites and the (nearly) 500,000 pages of racing history.

RacersReunion.com is for anyone and everyone who would like to reunite with drivers, crew, their families, and fans. This site has the tools to search, recognize, and celebrate racing history. Everything here is free to use. The fan clubs, photo galleries, video galleries, forums, blogs, chat, events calendar, and radio shows are all provided for anyone to utilize for the purpose of documentation, preservation, and celebration of racing history.

We have created a social network for your enjoyment. You do not need to join either to enjoy the content…only to contribute or participate in discussions.  Feel free to join either or both and share your memories.  Be sure to visit  http://racersreunionradio.com  and check out our 1500+ radio / podcast archives. You can also listen to our live and replay programming by clicking the “Listen Now” button on the home page.  We hope you appreciate our Stock Car and Drag Racing History, enjoy your visit, return often, and tell others about us.

We offer a special thanks to those who contribute to our site.