Prohibition was a time in the our country's past that most people today have only heard stories of. Eddie Harvey lived it. He was a “shiner” and did his work for around eight years, having never gotten caught. It was a time that peddling liquor was against the law and Eddie was not the man to fear the law. There was a particular way of doing things back then and even now it's not talked about. During his run of boot legging, he saved every penny he made and never drank. He worked for the eight years, affording himself the ability to open his first parts store. Once he had the capital to start in the parts business, he got out of the boot legging business. Placing a couple of piles of coal outside of his store was the signal for people to let them know that he had what they were likely looking for, and it was true. Eddie said that this was the “coal yard.” Those piles were what brought the customers and also brought the thieves. If Eddie was not careful and watchful, people would come in the yard after hours and steal the coal that was the signal for all of his business. Lite hearted, Eddie says this with a smile on his face, “How is prohibition related to racing? Getting away from the law, of course.” Eddie officially got into racing at the age of 26. Throughout the life of Eddie Harvey, his main passion was racing. Racing was the thing that Eddie gave most of his focus, outside of family. He raced all around the region (Southeast).His favorite story to tell is the one when he was racing in Atlanta and was using “special fuel”.

The fuel he was using was likely illegal and obviously uncovered.One of his friends was in the racewith him and since Eddie won the race his friend complained that every time they race against each other Eddie would always win. The friend proceeded to ask Eddie if since he always wins, if he would mind letting his friend take credit for the victory. Eddie got out of his car and switched with his friend and let him take credit for the win. I asked Eddie why it was that he allowed his friend the victory and he said “it's not like back home people would hear about it(the win).” So it was his word about winning when he got home that was the important thing. Racing was such a passion of Eddie's and he did it so often, that when he was asked if he could tell us how many races he took part in over the years, it was a pretty quick response - “to many to tell”. The question was asked if he remembered where his favorite place to race was and it took Eddie a minute to think about the answer as he had raced so much over the years. The answer was “Broadway Speedway.” How often did he win? “not that often, cause it was hard to win.” In 1964, Eddie opened the Knoxville Dragway. He still owns it to this day, but he doesn't race any longer. Though he loves the races, it is quite a drive from the Harvey farm so he doesn't get the opportunity to watch the races often, even though they still race there every weekend. Owning the track, racing, or even simply watching the races doesn't change the fact that Eddie Harvey is an absolute legend and country genius!