Hank Thomas discusses his career in auto racing, which has spanned over fifty years. Mr. Thomas grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began driving race cars at the age of twenty in 1956. He primarily raced stock cars and modifieds, travelling extensively throughout Virginia and the Carolinas. Mr. Thomas also earned a living as a mechanic for other racers and owners of high-performance vehicles. He explains how his mechanical expertise served as the foundation for Hank Thomas Performance, his racing parts distribution company. Mr. Thomas slowly built up his business while racing through the 1960s and 1970s, which included the acquisition of a contract to distribute Sunoco racing fuel that made up a large percentage of his firm's income. Other topics discussed include Mr. Thomas's relationships with some of his competitors and the technological changes in stock car racing during his career.
