Making every ride count at Stegall’s Arena By Mike Savicki The chute gate swings open quickly. The rider holds the bull rope tightly and bolts into the arena. Trying to impress the judges with a show of skill and balance, he sits tall and…
NHRA Top Fuel Driver Doug Herbert shares life lessons for the road By Mike Savicki Doug Herbert makes his living by driving fast. Really fast. In his seventeen years behind the wheel of an 8,000 horsepower dragster, he estimates he has gone over three…
Carolina Diving Academy raises local diving to new heights By Mike Savicki From his poolside coaching position, Aaron Hintz shouts encouragement to ten of his elite divers as they take turns twisting and flipping their way through the air during a springboard and platform…
Kayaks serve as the classroom of discovery By Mike Savicki Tracy Tripp knows the local waters in a way that most people never will. Her passion is kayaking, and from the cockpit of her bright red sea kayak, Tripp regularly explores the hundreds of…
Gaye Busch keeps her racing worries in check By Mike Savicki Like all caring mothers, Gaye Busch is concerned about the well-being of her children. She worries about them when they are on vacation, driving on the roadways and, especially, when they are at…
A motorcycle lifestyle has personal appeal By Mike Savicki At first glance, Patty Griffin of Cornelius does not appear to fit the stereotype of the rough and tough outlaw that is the traditional Harley-Davidson motorcyclist. She is a mother of two, a wife, a…
Charlotte Rugby Club draws an eclectic mix of players who can’t get enough of the game By Mike Savicki A popular bumper sticker on cars parked at the Skillbeck Athletic Grounds in northwest Charlotte reads, Give Blood Play Rugby. To the uneducated eye, it is…
Katie Kirk has the golf ball rolling her way By Mike Savicki On an afternoon when most golfers might choose to leave their clubs in the trunk, sixteen-year-old Katie Kirk is on the practice area at River Run Country Club in Davidson. The driving…
Crew Chief Steve Letarte knows how to build a team By Mike Savicki For the last seven years, Steve Letarte has run nearly every lap of every NASCAR Sprint Cup race. He knows what it takes to win and he knows how it feels…
Moonshine and racing history go hand in hand in the Piedmont By Mike Savicki Before the Earnhardts, Pettys and Waltrips became household names in the racing world, the Graftons, Lippards, Littles, Heffners and Burgess brothers pegged their speedometers and turned heads across the Carolina…