Wheel Men by Steve Tweed – Tuesdays with Tweed
Eleven Months & Twenty-Nine Days.
Ask any old-timer that’s been around and in the know. They will tell you that was the automatic sentence anyone would receive if caught hauling moonshine years ago.
“Hauling Shine” has left us with a wealth of daring, sad, and hilarious stories throughout Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This writer heard a story from an elderly former wheel man about his long dead uncle who also hauled moonshine. Said he in amazed retrospect, “Heck, he always drove with that Prince Albert hanging out of his mouth, never got above thirty-five miles per hour and not even once did he get pulled over”.
However, the hard truth is that it was a vocation for only those fearless enough to live in defiance of both their government and desperate poverty.
These men risked death from wrecks, rivals and “Revenuers” in order to provide for their families.
Most never became wealthy or famous from the moonshine business. That being said, the moonshine trade is the absolute bedrock of NASCAR.
Men like Junior Johnson, Curtis Turner, Raymond Parks, Red Byron and others used their talents to help form NASCAR which has reached incredible heights.
For most of the drivers, all that is left are a few rusted machines with broken glass and families who stand proud that their forefathers would risk everything for their well being.
Y’all have a great week!