Mike Hembree has written about auto racing for four decades and is the author of fourteen books, including seven racing titles. He has won numerous awards, including the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence. He also is a seven-time National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and a three-time winner of the Russ Catlin Award for motorsports journalism excellence. Hembree has covered auto racing for Autoweek, USA Today, the Greenville News (S.C.), the Spartanburg Herald-Journal (S.C.), the SPEED Channel and NASCAR Scene. His newspaper career also includes coverage of the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the Olympics, and golf. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a BA in Journalism and is a resident of Gaffney, South Carolina.