I'll never forget my first thought when I first saw Mike Head: "He looks more like a professional wrestler than a race car driver."

But the Ellenwood, Ga., driver was indeed 100 percent racer, one of the Southeast's best Dirt Late Model competitors for nearly two decades. | Slideshow

He was a mountain of a man. When I shook his hand, it felt like his wrapped around mine twice. He looked intimidating, but he was one of the kindest, gentlest people I've known.

Early in his racing career, which MORE